
QNN Heath &Co. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Shelf -.„A.i... 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE 



LADY OF THE LAKE, 



SIR WALTER SCOTT. 



EDITED BY 

EDWIN GINN. 



.<..^--*''~^ "''^Si- 



V JAN 15 lOC^) * 



BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED BY GINN, HEATH, & CO. 

1885. 



■ A 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1884, by 

EDWIN GINX, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



J. S. Gushing & Co., Printers, 115 High Street, Boston. 



PREFACE. 



/^N page V, under the heading " Classics for Chil- 
^-^ dren," is given the origin and plan of a series of 
books intended for the young in our public schools. 
The series will be well printed in large type, on good 
paper, and firmly bound, and will be furnished at a price 
so low as to bring within the reach of ever}^ pupil in the 
land these books, which have hitherto been confined to 
the homes of those in more favored circumstances. 

Scott's writings seem well fitted for children, as the 
language is simple and graphic, the thought healthful 
and invigorating, and the events narrated based so 
largely on real life as to tend to create an interest in 
historical studies. This poem, with its beautiful de- 
scriptions of scenery, its vivid pictures of life, and the 
charming melody of its rhythm is especially well suited 
to interest the young. 

It has been urged against the use of Shakespeare, 
Scott, and such writers, in the grammar grades, that it 
Avill interfere with the course in the high school, where 
these authors are studied. If only one out of twenty-five 
ever reaches the high school, and the twenty-four can 
read these authors to advantage in the lower grades, 
would it not be wise to remodel the entire course of 
study in such a way as to secure the greatest good to 
the greatest number ? 

Should it seem to some that too many simple words 
have been defined, it must be borne in mind that the 
majority of children, nine years of age, attending public 



11 PREFACE. 

schools, have read almost nothing, and are not supplied 
with dictionaries. We liave found it very difficult to 
define certain words concisely, in language sufficiently 
simple to be within the comprehension of young children. 

It has been our aim to give the child, having no other 
sources of information, such help as would enable him 
to read this poem intelligently, and we count ourselves 
especially fortunate in being able to draw so largely 
from Scott's own writings. 

In abridging and quoting from Scott and other 
writers, we have used their own language without 
change as far as possible, thinking it better to retain 
the original vigorous expression, at the risk sometimes 
of its being a little abrupt, than to restate the thought 
less forcibly in a smoother connection of sentences. 

We regret that no more space could be allowed for 
the biography, but we trust enough has been given to 
lead the pupil to read Lockhart's complete biography 
of Scott. Great as he appears in his works, his real 
grandeur is shown in his quiet, unassuming life, in his 
unselfish devotion to the comforts of others, and in his 
heroic struggle, when crippled with disease, against 
adverse fortune. 

It is recommended that pupils read the historical 
sketch about the Highlands and James V., page xli, 
before and after reading the poem. 

It is hoped that others with more leisure and ampler 
resources may carry on the work. 

We have availed ourselves, by permission, of Mr. 
Rolfe's carefully-restored text of the poem. 

E. G. 



CONTEI^TS. 



PAGE. 

Introduction : Clasf:ics for Children v 

Life of AValter Scott xv 

Highlanders and Iidkderers of Scotland . . . xli 

Argument 1 

Canto I. The Chase 3 

II. The Island . .37 

III. The Gathering 74 

IV. The Prophecy 108 

V. The Combat 142 

VI. The Guard-room 178 

Index to Xotes 211 

Map 220 



CLASSICS FOE CHILDREN. 



THE present volume forms one of a series of standard 
works, to be edited for the use of children between 
the ages of nine and fifteen in the Public Schools. It 
was suggested by seeing the result of setting children of 
nine and eleven years to reading The Lady of the 
Lake. They soon became so much interested in it 
that they began not only to read with greater ease, 
but voluntarily committed to memory large portions of 
the poem. 

This result led to making numerous inquiries of 
thoughtful men and women, in various walks of life, 
in regard to their early reading. The evidence thus 
gained shows that children are capable of enjoying 
good books at an early age, and the chances of forming 
in them a taste for good literature are then much better 
than at a later period. 

In order that this course of reading might be removed 
still further from an experimental basis, a list of ques- 
tions about the works of standard authors was sent to 
leading men in the various professions, from whom 
many valuable answers, suggestions, and offers of assist- 
ance have been received. The kind of matter having 
been decided on, the next thing to be considered was 
the editorial work. It seems best, as far as practicable, 
to publish complete works; but some, like Scott's novels, 



vi CLASSICS FOR CHILDREN. 

contain mucli matter beyond the years of the children 
for whom the books are designed, besides being too 
bulky for our purpose. Though it is not an easy task 
to abridge Scott, we are fortunate in finding a person 
equal to it, as Miss Yonge's Quentin Durward 
shows. 

It is designed to give such notes at the foot of the 
page as will enable children to read understandingly 
without the aid of other books. It may be thought 
that we have given too many definitions of words 
readily found ; but these books are designed for chil- 
dren in the Public Schools, few of whom are supplied 
with dictionaries. Besides, a pupil having a vague 
idea of the meaning of a word may not take the trouble 
to look it up; but, if a glance at the bottom of the page 
would give him more definite information, without loss of 
time or interest, he would be glad to avail himself of it. 

It may be urged that many pupils of this age will 
not take any interest in such works. Very likely. For 
such we would prescribe a liberal amount of committing 
to memory. It may prove quite as interesting to the 
children, and as valuable, from an educational point 
of view, as memorizing the ten thousand bays, capes, 
rivers, islands, lakes, mountains, inlets, counties, towns, 
and cities now required. The one-tenth that could 
be recalled by some law of association, as the relation 
of rivers to mountain chains, the occupations of the 
people as modified by climate, etc., has been retained and 
assimilated, but the other nine-tenths have been gotten 
rid of as useless lumber. It may have had some bene- 
ficial influence in exercising the memory, but how much 
better to have used the same amount of effort in 



CLASSICS FOR CHILDREN. vii 

memorizing the choicest pages of the best authors, 
which would have had a lasting influence in forming 
correct literary tastes, as well as in storing the mind 
with healthful sentiments, to be recalled always with 
delight. 

It seems to us a sad abuse of time to require children 
to learn such facts as the date of election, term of 
service, and the state in which each of the Presidents 
and Vice-Presidents of the United States was born, and 
the details of every unimportant battle or skirmish in 
the Colonial, French, and Indian wars. Let them but 
spend the same amount of time in reading such works 
as Irving's " Life of Washington," Scott's " Tales of a 
Grandfather," and Macaulay's "History of England," 
and they will obtain not only more valuable informa- 
tion, but, what is vastly more important, they will be 
acquiring a taste for good reading and a love for history 
which will be of inestimable value to them in after life. 
Besides, they will learn to use better English from con- 
stant use of such models than by studying technical 
grammar and poring over innumerable examples of 
true and false syntax. 

The child should have only the best set before him, 
for otherwise he is more liable to copy the imperfect, 
or to become confused between the true and the false, 
than to be guided aright. 

But to arithmetic we must look for the greatest mis- 
appropriation of time. In the country school it con- 
sumes about three-fourths of all the time. It is com- 
mon to find young men who can solve every one of the 
thousand puzzles in the bulky arithmetics, but cannot 
write a common letter without making half a dozen 



Viii CLASSICS FOR CHILDREN. 

mistakes in grammar and spelling. The pupils in the 
Grammar Schools must spend years over the long and 
tedious examples in compound fractions, compound 
numbers, compound proportion, profit and loss, part- 
nership, alligation, involution, square and cube roots, 
geometrical progression, permutations, annuities, and 
what not, though they have not time to read a single 
play of Shakespeare or a volume of history or other 
standard literature. 

Much valuable time is wasted by reversing the true 
order of studies, and giving so much attention to ex- 
hibitions, examinations, and methods. 

The child with a little knowledge and a good mem- 
ory may make a far better showing than the one who 
knows a great deal more of the subject. Memory com- 
mands a premium ; intelligence is at a discount. 

All real progress must be unconscious, and the in- 
stant the pupil turns his thoughts to what he is doing 
and how he is doing it, he not only ceases to learn, but 
has put the greatest bar to his future progress, by 
emphasizing his self-consciousness and egotism. As 
Dr. Stanley Hall truly says, such teaching is like the 
farmer's tearing up his beans from the earth every 
day, to observe the manner and progress of growth. 

The first lesson we would give would be the reverse 
of all this. We would never for a moment allow any 
study with any other idea than simply understanding 
the subject without thought of answering any ques- 
tions on it. We would try to get the })upil to forget 
everything, except his lesson, and utterly to lose himself 
in that. 

It is not natural for young children to confine their 



CLASSICS FOR CHILDREN. ix 

attention very closely or very long to one thing. There 
is so much to learn, so many novel things, that they 
must give some time to each. One should not attempt 
to control too early in life this natural tendency to 
change ; but, as soon as children begin to use books, 
they should be taught the value of giving their undivided 
attention to the lesson in hand, at short intervals at first, 
lengthening the time gradually so as not to tire. We 
would impress upon them the tviekedness of playing 
study, giving a listless, partial attention, and allowing 
their minds frequently to wander to other subjects. 
This want of concentration of effort is the greatest 
possible obstacle to advancement in learning, — a fault 
most common to pupils, and, strange to say, one to 
which but few teachers give any attention. 

It is necessary for children to read a great deal, to 
acquire that facility of expression whicli will enable 
them to perform the merely mechanical operation of 
reading without conscious effort. The mind should be 
entirely free to concentrate itself on the subject-matter. 
Now, since it is not natural for them to apply them- 
selves closely enough and long enough to accomplish 
this work, we should aid them by supplying an abun- 
dance of interesting material. It is not, therefore, of so 
much importance, at this stage of the child's education, 
that the highest moral truths be presented, as that the 
matter be of such intense interest as to catch and hold 
the whole attention of the pupil. The highest moral 
law he should now know is to learn the command of 
words, and the most effective use of his faculties. Care 
should be taken that his English should be simple and 
forcible, and nothing harmful in ethics should be allowed. 



X CLASSICS FOR CHILDREN. 

It is a waste of time to try to teach morals, in his read- 
ing lesson, to a child who has to spell out his words ; 
and almost as bad to try to teach geography, grammar, 
arithmetic, and the other subjects. Words are to him 
as tools to the mechanic. Until he has learned to use 
them effectively, he should not be put to serious work, 
where his attention is distracted from his first duty, — 
the perfecting himself in his trade, the command of 
words. If a part of the time now given to spelling out 
words, in geography, arithmetic, grammar, and stupid 
reading-lessons, were devoted at first, wholly or mostly, 
to reading only, our children would not only become 
much better scholars in these various branches, but 
read more literature in the Grammar Schools than the 
college student now gets before graduating; besides, 
they would acquire a literary taste and a love for good 
reading, of inestimable value to them in their future 
life, which will never be S(5 busy but that they will find 
the time for a few moments' gratification of it. People 
are ignorant, not so much because of being overworked, 
as from want of a love for good reading. Give the 
children a chance, a glimpse into the great storehouses 
of knowledge in books, wherein they may commune 
with the greatest minds at their best. 

After the child has learned to read with ease simple 
stories from all sources, the course should assume more 
definite form, including the standard works of fiction, 
history, biography, natural history, etc., all well graded, 
keeping constantly in mind these three points : inte7-est, 
moral poiver, and style ; selecting those only which em- 
body these all in the greatest degree. 

It is of the greatest importance to develop a love for 



CLASSICS FOR CHILDREN. xi 

history in early life, as no one can be well read without 
a fair knowledge of the past. In fact, one must know 
a people in order to understand their literature. Some 
of the best thoughts of a writer, depending upon allu- 
sions to historical persons or events, are entirely lost to 
the reader not familiar with history. Nor is this the 
only reason of its value. The tracing of great events 
unfolds the mind. We suffer and enjoy with the 
struggling mortals of the past, and, as it were, pass 
through their very experiences, and are able to reap 
their rewards while we avoid their mistakes. One who 
really loves history will find time to read it, but none 
for cheap novels. Leading epochs should be selected 
from the great historians, adding such information as 
may be necessary for a complete understanding of the 
extracts. The historical novel and biography are espe- 
cially well calculated to create a love for history, and 
the whole course should be so graded that biography, 
natural history, novels, travels, history, and the various 
departments of literature should be made mutually help- 
ful and dependent, covering the same periods and illus- 
trating one another. 

This work cannot be left to the High School, for we 
find, on a careful examination of the reports from several 
of our largest cities, where the schools have attained 
their greatest perfection, that only one in twenty-five 
of the whole number of pupils ever reaches that grade. 

Besides, only a very limited portion of time is now 
given to this work in our higher institutions of learning, 
and there is a prospect of less in the near future. The 
bread-and-butter theory of education, appealing directly 
to the needs of the great majority of the people, has 



Xll CLASSICS FOR CHILDREN. 

always exerted a strong influence against the higher 
training, and of late it has become alarmingly popular 
in our very strongholds of a liberal education. 

It may prove a dangerous experiment in education 
to allow the modern to take the place of the ancient 
languages, Avhicli have been for so many centuries the 
basis of the best training the world has yet known. A 
single generation may suffice to show our lost ground, 
but centuries may not afford time to regain it. 

A knowledge of French and German may enable tlie 
American trader to extend his commercial relations and 
rapidly to gain wealth, or the tourist to spend a much 
more pleasant trip abroad; but this education only enables 
him to pass readily from one bustling country to another, 
where he will still find his fellow-traveller snatching his 
hasty meal, reading his damp newspaper, and content 
lo become the connecting link between the rail-car and 
the telegraph-wire. When studying Latin and Greek, 
we are forced out of the present, and are obliged to 
extend our horizon, and, like the near-sighted at sea, 
attain a more healthy vision. It has a wonderfully 
calming influence on young America to spend a few 
years studying those old heathen languages, which after 
two thousand years furnish the whole civilized world 
their models of expression in language, art, and law. 

Though only a small proportion of the whole number 
of pupils now reach the High School, its elevating in- 
fluence is felt on all the lower grades ; and, as fast as 
the people learn to value education as increasing one's 
manhood or womanhood by developing the powers of 
enjoyment and usefulness rather than as a means of 
gaining wealth, they will make greater exertions to 
furnish their children the best possible. 



CLASSICS FOR CHILDREN. xiii 

It is hoped that this attempt to put standard litera- 
ture into the hands of young children will receive en- 
couragement, and that a free discussion of the subject 
may lead to such changes in the course of instruction 
in the Public Schools as shall give to each study the 
proportion of time its importance may fairly claim. 

E. G. 



LIFE OF WALTER SCOTT. 



ABRIDGED FKOM HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 



WALTER SCOTT, ray father, was boru in 1729, and 
educated to the profession of a Writer to the Signet.^ 
I was born, as I believe, on the 15th August, 1771. I 
showed every sign of health and strength until I was 
about eighteen months old. One night, I have been often 
told, I showed great reluctance to be canght and put to bed ; 
and after being chased about the room, was apprehended 
and consigned to my dormitory with some difficulty. It was 
the last time I was to show such personal agility. In the 
morning, I was discovered to be affected with the fever 
which often accompanies the cutting of large teeth. It held 
me three days. On the fourth, when they went to bathe me 
as usual, they discovered that I had lost the power of my 
right leg. My grandfather, an excellent anatomist as well 
as physician, the late worthjj^ Alexander Wood, and many 
others of the most respectable of the faculty, were consulted. 
There appeared to be no dislocation or sprain ; blisters and 
other topical remedies were applied in vain. The advice of 
my grandfather, Dr. Rutherford, that I should be sent to 
reside in the country, to give the chance of natural exertion, 
excited b}' free air and liberty, was first resorted to ; and 
l)efore I have the recollection of the slightest event, I was, 
agreeably to this friendly counsel, an inmate in the farm- 
house of Sandy-Knowe. 

1 An Edinburgh solicitor. 



xvi AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

It is here at Sandy-Knowe, in the residence of my paternal 
grandfather, ah'eady mentioned, that I have the first con- 
sciousness of existence. 

My grandmother, in whose youth the old Border depreda- 
tions were matter of recent tradition, used to tell me many 
a tale of Watt of Harden, Wight Willie of Aikwood, Jamie 
Telfer of the fair Dodhead, aud other heroes — merry men 
all of the persuasion and calling of Robin Hood and Little 
John. Two or three old books which lay in the window-seat 
were explored for my amusement in the tedious winter-days. 
Automathes, and Ramsay's Tea-tahle Miscellany ^ were my 
favorites, although at a later period an odd volume of 
Josephus's Wars of the Jews divided my partiality. 

My kind and affectionate aunt. Miss Janet Scott, whose 
memor}' will ever be dear to me, used to read these works 
to me with admirable patience, until I could repeat long 
passages by heart. The ballad of Hardyknute I was early 
master of, to the great annoyance of almost our onl}' visitor, 
the worthy clergyman of the parish, Dr. Duncan, who had 
not patience to have a sober chat interrupted by my shouting 
forth this ditty. Methinks I now see his tall, thin, emaciated 
figure, his legs cased in clasped gambadoes, and his face of 
a length that would have rivalled the Knight of La Maneha's, 
and hear him exclaiming, "One may as well speak in the 
mouth of a cannon as where that child is." 

I was in my fourth year when my father was advised that 
the Bath waters might be of some advantage to my lameness. 
M}' affectionate aunt, although such a journey promised to a 
person of her retired habits anything but pleasure or amuse- 
ment, undertook as readily to accompanj^ me to the wells of 
Bladud as if she had expected all the delight that ever the 
prospect of a watering-place held out to its most impatient 
visitants. My health was by this time a good deal confirmed 
by the country air and the influence of that imperceptible 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. . xvii 

and unfatiguing exercise to which the good sense of my 
grand lather had subjected me ; for, when the day was fine, I 
was usually carried out and laid down beside the old shep- 
herd, among the crags or rocks round which he fed his sheep. 
The impatience of a child soon inclined me to struggle with 
m}- infirmity, and I began by degrees to stand, to walk, and 
to run. Although the limb affected was much shrunk and 
contracted, my general health, which was of more importance, 
was much strengthened b}- being frequently in the open air ; 
and, in a word, I, who in a cit}' had probably been condemned 
to hopeless and helpless decrepitude, was now a healthy, 
high-spirited, and, my lameness apart, a sturdy child. 

During my residence at Bath I acquired the rudiments of 
reading, at a daj'-school kept by an old dame near our lodg- 
ings, and I had never a more regular teacher, although I 
think I did not attend her a quarter of a year. An occasional 
lesson from my aunt supplied the rest. Afterwards, when 
grown a big boy, I had a few lessons from Mr. Stalker of 
Edinburgh, and finally from the Rev. Mr. Cleeve. But I 
never acquired a just pronunciation, nor could I read with 
much propriety. 

The most delightful recollections of Bath are dated after 
the arrival of my uncle, Captain Robert Scott, who intro- 
duced me to all the little amusements which suited my age, 
and, above all, to the theatre. The pla}' was As You Like 
It; and the witcher}* of the whole scene is alive in my mind 
at this moment. I made, I believe, noise more than enough, 
and remember being so much scandalized at the quarrel 
between Orlando and his brother, in the first scene, that I 
screamed out, " A'n't they brothers?" A few weeks' resi- 
dence at home convinced me, who had till then been an onl}- 
child in the house of my grandfather, that a quarrel between 
brothers was a very natural event. 

After being a year at Bath, I returned first to Edinlnugh, 



xviii AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

and afterwards for a season to Sandy-Knowe ; — and thus 
the time whiled away till about m}' eighth year, when it 
was thought sea-bathing might be of service to my lame- 
ness. 

For this purpose, still under my aunt's protection, I re- 
mained some weeks at Prestonpans, — a circumstance not 
worth mentioning, excepting to record my juvenile intimacy 
with an old military veteran, Dalgetty b}' name, who had 
pitched his tent in that little village, after all his campaigns, 
subsisting upon an ensign's half-pay, though called by 
courtesy a Captain. As this old gentleman, who had been 
in all the German wars, found very few to listen to his tales 
of military feats, he formed a sort of alliance with me, and 
I used invariablj' to attend him for the pleasure of hearing 
those communications. Sometimes our conversation turned 
on the American war, which was then raging. It was about 
the time of Burgoyue's unfortunate expedition, to which my 
Captain and I augured different conclusions. Somebody 
had shown me a map of North America, and, struck with 
the rugged appearance of the country, and the quantity of 
lakes, I expressed some doubts on the subject of the Gener- 
al's arriving safely at the end of his journey, wdiich were 
very indignantly refuted by the Captain. The news of the 
Saratoga disaster, while it gave me a little triumph, rather 
shook my intimacy with the veteran. 

Besides this veteran, I Ibuud another ally at Prestonpans 
in the person of George Constable, an old friend of my 
father's. He was the first person who told me about Falstalf 
and Hotspur, and other characters in Shakespeare. AYhat 
idea I annexed to them I know not, but I must have annexed 
some, for I remember quite well l)eing interested in the sub- 
ject. Indeed, I rather suspect that children derive impulses 
of a powerful and important kind in hearing things which 
they cannot entirely comprehend ; and, therefore, that to 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. xix 

write down to chiklreu's understanding is a mistake : set 
them on the scent, and let them puzzle it out. 

From Prestonpans I was transported back to my father's 
house in George's Square, which continued to be my most 
established place of residence, until my marriage in 1797. 
I felt the change, from being a single indulged brat to be- 
coming a member of a large famil}', very severely ; for, under 
the gentle government of my kind grandmother, who was 
meekness itself, and of my aunt, who, though of an higher 
temper, was exceedingly attached to me, I had acquired a 
degree of license which could not be permitted in a large 
famil3\ I had sense enough, however, to bend m}' temper 
to my new circumstances ; but, such was the agony which I 
internally experienced, that I have guarded against nothing 
more, in the education of my own family, than against their 
acquiring habits of self-willed caprice^ and domination. I 
found much consolation, during this period of mortification, 
in the partiality of my mother. She joined to a light and 
happy temper of mind a strong turn to study poetry and 
works of imagination. 

My lameness and my solitary habits had made me a tolera- 
ble reader, and my hours of leisure were usually spent in 
reading aloud to my mother Pope's translation of Homer, 
which, excepting a few traditionary ballads, and the songs 
in Allan Ramsay's Evergreen, was the first poetry which I 
perused. My mother had good natural taste and great feel- 
ing : she used to make me pause upon those passages which 
expressed generous and worthy sentiments, and, if she could 
not divert me from those which were descriptive of battle 
and tumult, she contrived at least to divide my attention 
between them. My own enthusiasm, however, was chiefly 
awakened by the wonderful and the terrible — the common 
taste of children, but in which I have remained a child even 
unto this day. I got by heart, not as a task, but almost 



XX AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

without intending it, tlie passages with which I was most 
pleased, and used to recite them aloud, both when alone and 
to others — more willingly, however, in my hours of solitude, 
for I had observed some auditors smile, and I dreaded ridi- 
cule at that time of life more than I have ever done since. 

In [1778] I was sent to the second class of the Grammar 
School, or High School of Edinburgh, then taught b^' Mr. 
Luke Fraser, a good Latin scholar and a ver}' worthy man. 
Though I had received, with my brothers, in private, lessons 
of Latin from Mr. James French, now a minister of the Kirk 
of Scotland, I was nevertheless rather behind the class in 
which I was placed both in years and in progress. This was 
a real disadvantage, and one to which a boy of liveh' temper 
and talents ought to be as little exposed as one who might 
be less expected to make up his lee-way, as it is called. The 
situation has the unfortunate effect of reconciling a boy of 
the former character (which in a posthumous work I may 
claim for my own) to holding a subordinate station among 
his class-fellows — to which he would otherwise affix dis- 
grace. There is also, from the constitution of the High 
School, a certain danger not sufficiently attended to. The 
bo3's take precedence in their places, as they are called, 
according to their merit, and it requires a long while, in 
general, before even a clever bo}', if he falls behind the class, 
or is put into one for which he is not quite ready, can force 
his way to the situation which his abilities really entitle him 
to hold. But, in the meanwhile, he is necessarily led to be 
the associate and companion of those inferior spirits with 
whom he is placed ; for the system of precedence, though it 
does not limit the general intercourse among the boys, has 
nevertheless the effect of throwing them into clubs and 
coteries, according to the vicinit}' of the seats they hold. A 
bo}' of good talents, therefore, placed even for a time among 
his inferiors, especially if they be also his elders, learns to 



AUTOBIOGEAPHY. xxi 

participate in their pursuits and objects of ambition, which 
are usually very distinct from the acquisition of learning ; 
and it will be well if he does not also imitate them in that 
indifference which is contented with bustling over a lesson 
so as to avoid punishment, without affecting superiority or 
aiming at reward. It was probably owing to this circmii- 
stance, that, although at a more advanced period of life I 
have enjoyed considerable facility in acquiring languages, 
I did not make any great figure at the High School ; or, at 
least, anj' exertions which I made were desultory and little 
to be depended on. 

Our class contained some very excellent scholars. As for 
myself, I glanced like a meteor from one end of the class to 
the other, and commonly disgusted my kind master as much 
by negligence and frivolity as I occasionally pleased him by 
flashes of intellect and talent. Among my companions my 
good-nature and a flow of ready imagination rendered me 
very popular. Boys are uncommonly just in their feelings, 
and at least equally generous. My lameness, and the efforts 
which I made to supply that disadvantage, by making up 
in address what I wanted in activity, engaged the latter 
l)rinciple in my favor ; and in the winter play -hours, when 
hard exercise was impossible, my tales used to assemble an 
admiring audience round Lucky Brown's fireside, and happy 
was he that could sit next to the inexhaustible narrator. I 
was also, though often negligent of my own task, always 
ready to assist my friends ; and hence I had a little pai'ty of 
staunch partisans and adherents, stout of hand and heart, 
though somewhat dull of head, — the very tools for raising a 
hero to eminence. So, on the whole, I made a brighter 
figure in the yards than in the class. 

After having been three years under Mr. Fraser, our class 
was, in the usual routine of the school, turned over to Dr. 
Adam, the Rector. It was from this respectable man that 



XXU AUTOBIOGIJArilY. 

I lirst learned the value of tlie knowledge I had hitherto con- 
sidered only as a burdensome task. It was the fashion to 
remain two jears at his class, where we read Caesar and 
Livy and Sallust, in prose ; Virgil, Horace, and Terence, 
in verse. I had by this time mastered, in some degree, the 
dilHculties of the language, and began to be sensible of its 
beauties. This was really gathering grapes from thistles ; 
nor shall I soon forget the swelling of my little pride when 
the Rector pronounced, that though many of my school-fel- 
lows understood the Latin better, Gualterus Scott was behind 
few in following and enjoying the author's meaning. Thus 
encouraged, I distinguished myself by some attempts at 
poetical versions from Horace and Virgil. Dr. Adam used 
to invite his scholars to such essays, but never made them 
tasks. I gained some distinction upon these occasions, and 
the Rector in future took much notice of me ; and his 
judicious mixture of censure and praise went far to counter- 
balance my habits of indolence and inattention, I saw I 
was expected to do well, and I was piqued in honor to 
vindicate my master's favorable opinion. I climbed, there- 
fore, to the first form ; and, though I never made a first-rate 
Latin ist, m}' school-fellows, and what was of more conse- 
quence, I myself, considered that I had a character for 
learning to maintain. 

From Dr. Adam's class I should, according to the usual 
routine, have proceeded immediatel}' to college. But, for- 
tunately, I was not 3et to lose, by a total dismission from 
constraint, the acquaintance with the Latin which I had 
acquired. My health had become rather delicate from rapid 
growth, and my father was easily persuaded to allow me to 
spend half a year at Kelso with my kind aunt. Miss Janet 
Scott, whose inmate I again became. It was hardly worth 
mentioning that I had frequently visited her during our short 
vacations. 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. xxiii 

In the meanwhile my acquaintance with English literature 
was gradually extending itself. In the intervals of my 
school hours I had always perused with avidity such books 
of history or jjoetry or voyages and travels as chance pre- 
sented to me, — not forgetting the usual, or rather ten times 
the usual, quantity of fairy tales, eastern stories, romances, 
etc. These studies were totally unregulated and undirected. 
My tutor thought it almost a sin to open a profane play or 
poem ; and my mother, besides that she might be in some 
degree trammelled by the religious scruples which he sug- 
gested, had no longer the opportunity to hear me read poetry 
as formerly. I found, howe\'er, in her dressing-room (where 
I slept at one time) some odd vohimes of Shakespeare ; nor 
can I easily forget the rapture with which I sate up in my 
shirt reading them by the light of a fire in her apartment, 
until the bustle of the family rising from supper warned me 
it was time to creep back to my bed, where I was supposed 
to have been safel}' deposited since nine o'clock. Chance, 
however, threw in my way a poetical preceptor. This was 
no other than the excellent and benevolent Dr. Blacklock, 
well known at that time as a literary character. I know not 
how I attracted his attention, and that of some of the young 
men who boarded in his family ; but so it was that I became 
a frequent and favored guest. The kind old man opened to 
me the stores of his library, and through his recommendation 
I became intimate with Ossian and Spenser. I was delighted 
with both, yet I think chiefly with the latter poet. The 
tawdry repetitious of the Ossianic phraseology disgusted me 
rather sooner than might have been expected from my age. 
But Spenser I could have read forever. Too young to 
trouble myself about the allegor}', I considered all the 
knights and ladies and dragons and giants in their outward 
and exoteric sense, and God only knows how delighted I 
was to find m3-self in such societ}'. As I had always a 



XXIV AITTOBKXIRAPHY. 

wonderful facility in retaining in my memory whatever verses 
pleased mo, the quautit}- of Spenser's stanzas which I could 
repeat was really marvellous. But this memory of mine 
was a very fickle ally, and has through my whole life acted 
merelj'^ upon its owu capricious motion, and might have 
enabled me to adopt old Beattie of Meikledale's answer, 
when complimented by a certain reverend divine on the 
strength of the same faculty: "No, sir," answered the old 
Borderer, ' ' I have no command of my memor}'. It only 
retains what hits my fancy ; and probably, sir, if you were 
to preach to me for two hours, I would not be able when 
you finished to remember a word 3'ou had been saying." 
My memory was precisely of the same kind : it seldom 
failed to preserve most tenaciously a favorite passage of 
poetry, a play-house ditt}', or, above all, a Border-raid 
ballad ; but names, dates, and the other technicalities of 
histor}' escaped me in a most melanchol}' degree. The 
philosoph}' of history-, a much more important subject, was 
also a sealed book at this period of my life ; but I gradually 
assembled much of what was striking and picturesque in 
historical narrative ; and when, in riper years, I attended 
more to the deduction of general principles, I was furnished 
with a powerful host of examples in illustration of them. I 
was, in short, like an ignorant gamester, who kept up a good 
hand until he knew how to play it. 

I left the High School, therefore, with a great quantity of 
general information, ill arranged, indeed, and collected with- 
out system ; yet deeply impressed upon my mind ; readily 
assorted by my power of connection and memory, and gilded, 
if I may be permitted to say so, b}^ a vivid and active im- 
agination. If my studies were not under any direction at 
Edinburgh, in the countr}^, it may be well imagined, they 
were less so. A respectable subscription library, a circulat- 
ing library of ancient standing, and some private book- 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY. XXV 

shelves, were open to my random perusal, and I waded into 
the stream like a blind man into a ford, without the power 
of searching my wa}', unless by groping for it. M3' appetite 
for books was as ample and indiscriminating as it was inde- 
fatigable, and I since have had too frequently reason to 
repent that few ever read so much, and to so little purpose. 

Among the valuable acquisitions I made about this time, 
was an acquaintance with Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered. But, 
above all, I then first became acquainted with Bishop Percy's 
Reliques of Ancient Poetry. I remember well the spot 
where I read these volumes for the first time. It was 
beneath a huge platauus-tree, in the ruins of what had been 
intended for an old-fashioned arbor in the garden I have 
mentioned. The summer-day sped onward so fast, that, 
notwithstanding the sharp appetite of thirteen. I forgot the 
hour of dinner, was sought for with anxiety, and was still 
found entranced in my intellectual banquet. To read and to 
remember was in this instance the same thing, and hence- 
forth I overwhelmed ray school-fellows, and all who would 
hearken to me, with tragical recitations from the ballads of 
Bishop Percy. The first time, too, I could scrape a few 
shillings together, which were not common occurrences with 
me, I bought unto myself a copy of these beloved volumes ; 
nor do I believe I ever read a book half so frequently, or 
with Imlf the enthusiasm. About this period also I became 
acquainted with the works of Richardson, and those of 
Mackenzie, with Fielding, Smollet, and some others of our 
best novelists. 

To this period also I can trace distinctl}' the awaking of 
that delightful feeling for the beauties of natural objects 
which has never since deserted me. The neighborhood of 
Kelso, the most beautiful, if not the most romantic village 
in Scotland, is eminently calculated to awaken these ideas. 

From this time the love of natural beaut}-, more especially 



XXVI AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

wheu combined with tinciout ruins, or remains of our fathers' 
piety or splendor, became with me an insatiable passion, 
which, if circumstances had permitted, I would willingly 
have gratified by travelling over half the globe. 

If, however, it should ever fall to the lot of youth to 
l)eruse these pages — let su(;h a reader remember, that it is 
with the» deepest regret that I recollect in my manhood the 
opportunities of learning which I neglected in my youth ; 
that through every part of my literary career I have felt 
pinched and hampered by my own ignorance ; and that I 
would at this moment give lialf the reputation I have had 
the good fortune to acquire, if by doing so I could rest the 
remaining part upon a sound foundation of learning and 
science. 



LIFE OF SCOTT. 



ABRIDGED MAINLY FROM LOCKHART AND HUTTON. 



AS Scott grew up, entered the classes of the college, 
aucl began his legal studies, first as apprentice to his 
father, and then in the law classes of the University, he 
became noticeable to all his friends for his gigantic memory 
and the rich stores of romantic material with which it was 
loaded. 

His reading was almost all in the direction of militar}- 
exploit, or romance and mediaeval legend and the later bor- 
der songs of his own country. He learned Italian and read 
Ariosto. Later he learned Spanish and devoured Cervantes, 
whose " wow^as," he said, "first inspired him with the 
ambition to excel in fiction " ; and all that he read and 
admired he remembered. 

It might be supposed that, with these romantic tastes, 
Scott could scarcely have made much of a lawyer, though 
the inference would, I believe, be quite mistaken. His 
father, however, reproached him with being better fitted for 
a pedlar than a lawyer, — so persistently did he trudge over 
all the neighboring counties in search of the beauties of 
nature and the historic associations of battle, siege, or 
legend. 

In spite of all this love of excitement, Scott became a 
sound lawyer, and might have been a great one, had not 
his pride of character, the impatience of his genius, and the 
stir of his imagination rendered him indisposed to wait and 



xxviii Lli'E OF SCOTT. 

slave in the precise manner which the prepossessions of 
solicitors appoint. 

He continued to practise at the bar — nominally at least — 
for fourteen years, but the life of literature and the life of 
the bar hardly ever suit, and in Scott's case they suited the 
less, that he felt himself likely to be a dictator in the one 
field, and only a postulant in the other. Literature was a 
'far greater gainer by his choice than law could have been 
a loser. For his capacity for the law he shared with thou- 
sands of able men, his capacity for literature with few or none. 

Love and Marriage. 

One Sunday, about two years before his call to the bar, 
Scott offered his umbrella to a young lady of much beauty 
who was coming out of the Greyfriars Church during a 
shower ; the umbrella was graciously accepted ; and it was 
not an unprecedented consequence that Scott fell in love with 
the liorrower, who turned out to be Margaret, daughter of 
Sir John and Lady Jane Stuart Belches, of Iverna}-. For 
near six years after this, Scott indulged the hope of marrying 
this lady, and it docs not seem doubtful that the lad}' herself 
was in part responsible for this impression. 

For some reason this strong attachment was broken off. 
It may have been on account of some disagreement between 
the young people themselves, but most likely from a differ- 
ence in the rank of the parties. It was his first and only deep 
passion, so far as ever can be known to us, and had a great 
influence on his after life, both in keeping him free from 
some of the most dangerous temptations in life during his 
youth, and in creating in him an interior world of dreams and 
recollections, on which his imagination was continually fed. 

The pride which was always so notable a feature in Scott 
probably sustained him through the keen inward pain 
which it is very certnin from a 2;rcat many of his own words 



LIFE OF SCOTT. Xxix 

that he must have suffered in this uprooting of his most pas- 
sionate hopes. And it was in part probably the same pride 
which led him to form, within the year, a new tie — his 
engagement to Mademoiselle Charpentier, or Miss Carpenter, 
as she was usually called, — the daughter of a French 
royalist of Lyons who had died early in the revolution. 

She made on the whole a very good wife, only one to be 
protected by him from every care, and not one to share 
Scott's deeper anxieties or to participate in his dreams. 

Border Minstrelsy and Maturer Poems. 

Ever since his earliest college days Scott had been collecting, 
in those excursions of his into Liddesdale and elsewhere, 
materials for a book on The 3finstrelsy of the Scottish 
Border ; and the publication of this work, in January, 1802, 
was his first great literary success. The whole edition of 
eight hundred copies was sold within the 3'ear, while the 
skill and care which Scott had devoted to the historical illus- 
tration of the ballads, and the force and spirit of his own new 
ballads, written in imitation of the old, gained him at once a 
very high literary name. And the name was well deserved. 

Scott's genius flowered late. It was not until he was already 
thirty-one years of age that he wrote the first canto of his first 
great romance in verse. The Lay of the Last Minstrel. Jeffrey 
says of the three poems : " The Lay, if I may venture to state 
the creed now established, is, I should say, generally considered 
as the most natural and original, Marmion as the most power- 
ful and splendid. The Lady of the Lake as the most interesting, 
romantic, picturesque, and graceful of his great poems." 

It is in painting those moods and exploits, in relation to 
which Scott shares most completely the feelings of ordinary 
men, but experiences them witli far greater strength and 
purity than ordinary men, that he triumphs as a poet. 



XXX LIFE OF SCOTT. 

His romance is like liis native scenery, — bold, bare, and 
rugged, with a swift, deep stream of strong, pure feeling run- 
ning through it. There is plenty of color in his pictures, 
as there is on the Scotch hills when the heather is out. And 
so too there is plenty of intensity in his romantic situations ; 
but it is the intensity of simple, natural, unsophisticated, 
hardy, and manly characters. 

Partnership with the Ballantyne Brothers. 

Before proceeding further with Scott's life, it may be well 
to mention briefly his commercial relations with the Ballan- 
tyne Brothers, which had such an important bearing on the 
rest of his life. 

About the year 1805, before he had any idea of the gains 
he might derive from his writings, and while his income from 
other sources was very limited, he formally, but secretly, 
entered into the printing business as a partner with his old 
schoolmate, James Ballantyne. 

Although Ballantyne kept his accounts in a loose way, he 
otherwise managed the business fairl}- well ; and it might 
have proved a good investment had not Scott soon after, in 
order to furnish work to the printing-office, engaged in the 
publishing and book-selling business with John Ballantyne. 

Great risks attend this business, requiring good financial 
abillt}', a large acquaintance with men, sound judgment, and 
close application ; yet Scott selected a frivolous man of 
pleasure, with neither character or capacity, as a partner, 
rel3nng probably on his own judgment for managing the 
publishing house. For such a task he was wholly unfitted. 
Because he was fond of antiquarian and historical re- 
searches, he supposed the people were eager for such read- 
ing ; and because some of his friends desired to write 
unsalable books, he could not refuse to publish them. 
It is not sufficient for a publisher to ascertain that the book 



LIFE OF SCOTT. XXxi 

offered is a good one, but he must know whether it is so well 
adapted to the times and the wants of the community as to 
command a reasonable sale. 

Besides the firm's making so many bad investments, John 
Ballantyne was squandering its money in dissipation, so 
that Scott was kept in constant fear of bankruptcy all 
through the years 1813 and 1814 ; and it was not until the 
publication of Waverleij, opening up the richest vein in his 
own genius and popularity, that these alarms were ended. 

So great was the success of this novel that the leading pub- 
lishers were very eager to purchase a share in it and subse- 
quent issues. Constable, of Edinburgh, secured the works, 
but on condition that he should buy also a large part of the 
worthless stock of John Ballantyne & Co. This sale enabled 
Scott to wind up that unfortunate enterprise fairly well, 
although the printing house of James Ballantyne & Co. still 
held some of their notes, and Constable, on whom he was 
depending for money to extend his estate, build his castle, 
and pay his other expenses, was seriousl}' crippled by the 
purchase of all this unsalable stock. 

The Waverley Novels. 

In the summer of 1814, Scott took up again and completed 
— almost at a single heat — a fragment of a Jacobite story 
begun in 1805 and then laid aside. It was published anony- 
mously, and its astonishing success turned back again the 
scales of Scott's fortunes, already inclining ominously 
towards a catastrophe. This story was Waverley, 

Scott's method of composition was alwa^-s the same ; and, 
when writing an imaginative work, the rate of progress 
seems to have been prett}' even, depending much more on the 
absence of distui'bing engagements than on any mental 
irregularity. The morning was always his brightest time ; 
but morning or evening, in country or in town, well or ill, 



XXxii LIFE OF SCOTT. 

writing with liis own pen or dictating to an amanuensis in 
the intervals of screaming-fits clue to the torture of cramp in 
the stomach, Scott spun away at his imaginative web almost 
as evenly as a silkworm spins at its golden cocoon. 

In the fourteen most eflfective years of Scott's literary life, 
during which he wrote twenty-three novels besides shorter 
tales, the best stories appear to have been on the whole the 
most rapidly written, probably because they took the strong- 
est hold of the author's imagination. 

But though, to our larger experience, Scott's achievement, 
in respect of mere fertility, is by no means the miracle which 
it once seemed, I do not think one of his successors can com- 
pare with him for a moment in the ease and truth with which 
he painted, not merely the life of his own time and country — 
seldom indeed that of precisely his own time, — but that of 
days long past, and often too of scenes far distant. The 
most powerful of all his stories. Old 3for(aUty, was the story 
of a period more than a century and a quarter before he 
wrote; and others — which, though inferior to this in force, 
are nevertheless, when compared with the so-called historical 
romances of any other English writer, what sunlight is to 
moonlight, if you can say as much for the latter as to admit 
even that comparison — go back to the period of the Tudors, 
that is, two centuries and a half. Quentin Dxirioarcl runs back 
farther still, far into the previous century', while Ivanhoe and 
The Talisman carry us back more than five hundred years. 

The most striking feature of Scott's romances is that, for 
the most part, the}^ are pivoted on public rather than mere 
private interests and passions. With but few exceptions — 
( The Antiquary^ St. Bonan's Well, and Guy Mannering are 
the most important) — Scott's novels give us an imaginative 
view, not of mere individuals, but of individuals as they are 
affected b}^ the public strifes and social divisions of the age. 
No man can read Scott without being more of a public man. 



LIFE OF SCOTT. 



Scott in Adversity. 



With the jear 1825 came a fiuancial crisis, and Constable 
began to tremble for his solvency. From the date of his 
baronetcy (1820) , Sir Walter had launched out into a consider- 
able increase of expenditure. He got plans on a rather large 
scale in 1821 for the extension of Abbotsford, which were all 
carried out. To meet his expenses in this and other ways he 
received Constable's bills for "four unnamed works of fic- 
tion," of which he had not written a line. 

Nor were the obligations he incurred on his own account, 
or that of his family, the only ones by which he was bur- 
dened. He was always incurring expenses, often heav}'^ ex- 
penses, for other people. Such obligations, however, would 
have been nothing when compared with Sir Walter's means, 
had all his bills on Constable been duh* honored, and had 
not the printing firm of Ballautyne and Co. been so deeply 
involved with Constable's house that it necessarily became 
insolvent when he stopped. Taken altogether, I believe 
that Sir Walter earned during his own lifetime at least 
£140,000 by his literary work alone, probably more ; while 
even on his laud and building combined he did not appar- 
ently spend more than half that sum. 

Thus even his loss of the price of several novels by Con- 
stable's failure would not seriously have compromised Scott's 
position, but for his share in the printing-house, which fell 
with Constable, and the obligations of which amounted to 
£117,000. 

As Scott had always forestalled his income, — spending 
the purchase-money of his poems and novels before they 
were written, — such a failure as this, at the age of fifty-five, 
Avhen all the freshness of his youth was gone out of him, 
when he saw his son's prospects blighted as well as his own, 
and knew perfectly that James Ballantyne, unassisted by 



XXxiv LIFE OF SCOTT. 

him, could never hope to pay any fraction of the debt worth 
mentioning, would have been paralyzing, liad he not been a 
man of iron nerve, and of a pride and courage hardl}- ever 
equalled. Domestic calamity, too, was not far off. For two 
years he had been watching the failure of his wife's health 
with increasing anxiet}', and, as calamities seldom come 
single, her illness took a most serious form at the very time 
when the blow fell, and she died within four months of the 
failure. Nay, Scott was himself unwell at the critical 
moment, and was taking sedatives which discomposed his 
brain. 

And this was Scott's preparation for his failure, and the 
bold resolve which followed it, — to work for his creditors as 
he had worked for himself, and to pay off, if possible, the 
whole £117,000 by his own literary exertions. 

His estate was conveyed to trustees for the benefit of his 
creditors till such time as he should pa}' off Ballantyne and 
Co.'s debt, which of course in his lifetime he never did. Yet 
between January, 1826, and January, 1828, he earned for 
his creditors very nearly £40,000. Woodstock sold for £8228, 
" a matchless sale," as Sir Walter remarked, " for less than 
three months' work." Had Sir Walter's health lasted, he 
would have redeemed his obligations on behalf of Ballantyne 
and Co. within eight or nine years at most from the time of 
his failure. But what is more remarkable still is that after 
his health failed he struggled ou with little more than half a 
brain, but a whole will, to work while it was yet day, though 
the evening was dropping fast. 

Not onl}- did he row much harder against the stream of 
fortune than he had ever rowed with it, but, what required 
still more resolution, he fought on against the growing con- 
viction that his imagination would not kindle, as it used to 
do, to its old heat. 

He struggled on even to the end, and did not consent to 



LIFE OF SCOTT. XXXV 

try the experiment of a voj'age and visit to Italy till his 
immediate work was done. But the rest came too late. 
So intense and continuous had been his application to work 
that even his ver^^ robust constitution was so completely 
exhausted that it was no longer able to repair the ravages 
of disease. He spent several months abroad, visiting Malta, 
Naples, Rome, Venice, and other places of interest, without 
improvement. He intended to visit Goethe, but the death 
of the great author at this time changed his plans, increasing 
his desire for an immediate return home. He sank rapidly, 
becoming quite unconscious during the latter part of the 
homeward journey, until his e3-e caught the towers of Abbotts- 
ford, when he sprang up Avith a cry of delight. Mr. Laidlaw, 
a dear friend, was waiting for him, and he met him with a 
cr}-, "Ha! Willie Laidlaw. O, man, how often I have 
thought of you ! " His dogs came round his chair, and 
began to fawn on him and lick his hands, while Sir Walter 
smiled or sobbed over them. The next morning he was 
wheeled about his garden, and on the following morning was 
out in this way for a couple of hours ; within a day or two 
he fancied that he could write again, but on taking the pen 
into his hand his fingers could not clasp it, and he sank back 
with tears rolling down his cheek. Later, when Laidlaw 
said in his hearing that Sir AValter had had a little repose, 
he replied, "No, Willie; no repose for Sir Walter but in 
the grave." As the tears rushed from his ej'es, his old pride 
revived. " Friends," he said, " don't let me expose myself; 
get me to bed, — that is the only place." A few days after- 
wards, awaking conscious and composed, he desired to see 
his son-in-law. " Lockhart," he said, " I may have but a 
minute to speak to 3'ou. My dear, be a good man, — be 
virtuous, — be religious, — be a good man. Nothing else 
will give you an}' comfort when you come to lie here." He 
paused, and Lockhart said, " Shall I send for Sophia and 



XXXvi LITE OF SCOTT. 

Anne?" " No," said he, "don't disturb them. Poor souls ! 
I know they were up all night. God bless you all ! " With 
this he sank into a very tranquil sleep, and, indeed, he 
scarcely afterwards gave any sign of consciousness. He 
died Sept. 21, 1832, sixty-one years and one mouth old. 

Well might Lord Chief Baron Shepherd apph' to Scott 
Cicero's description of some contemporary of his own, who 
" had borne adversity wiseh', who had not been broken b}' 
fortune, and who, amidst the buffets of fate, had maintained 
his dignity." There was in Sir Walter, I think, at least as 
much of the Stoic as the Christian. But Stoic or Christian, 
he was a hero of the old indomitable type. Even the last 
fragments of his imaginative power were all turned to account 
by that unconquerable will, amidst the discouragement of 
friends, and the still more disheartening doubts of his own 
mind. Like the headland stemming a rough sea, he was 
gradually worn awa}', but never crushed. 

Sir Walter certainh' left his "name unstained," unless 
the serious mistakes natural to a sanguine temperament such 
as his are to be counted as stains upon his name ; and if 
the}' are, where among the sons of men would you find mam' 
unstained names as noble as his with such a stain upon it ? 
He was not only sensitively honorable in motive, but, when 
he found what evil his sanguine temper had worked, he used 
his gigantic powers to repair it, and, as a result of these 
almost superhuman efforts, within fifteen years after Sir 
Walter's death, the debt was at last, through the value of 
the copyrights he had left behind him, finally extinguished, 
and the small estate of Abbotsford left cleared. Sir Walter's 
effort to found a new house was even less successful than 
the effort to endow it. 

The only direct descendant of Sir Walter Scott is now 
Mary Monica Hope-Scott, who was born on the 2d October, 
1852, the grandchild of Mrs. Lockhart, and the great-gi"and- 
child of the founder of Abbotsford. 



LIFE OF SCOTT. XXXvii 



EXTRACTS FROM LOCKHART'S LIFE OF SCOTT. 

"I AM drawing near to the close of my career ; I am fast 
shuffling off the stage. I have been perhaps the most volu- 
minous author of the day ; and it is a comfort to me to think 
that I have tried to unsettle no man's faith, to corrupt no 
man's principle." 

In the social relations of life, where men are most effec- 
tually tried, no spot can be detected in him. He was a 
patient, dutiful, reverent son ; a generous, compassionate, 
tender husband ; an honest, careful, and most affectionate 
father. Never was a more virtuous or a happier fireside 
than his. The influence of his mighty genius shadowed it 
imperceptibl}' ; his calm good sense, and his angelic sweet- 
ness of heart and temper, regulated and softened a strict but 
paternal discipline. His children, as they grew up, under- 
stood b}' degrees the high privilege of their birth ; but the 
profoundest sense of his greatness never disturbed their con- 
fidence in his goodness. 

Perhaps the most touching evidence of the lasting tender- 
ness of his earl}' domestic feelings was exhibited to his 
executors, when they opened his repositories in search of his 
testament, the evening after his burial. On lifting up his 
desk, we found arranged in careful order a series of little 
objects, which had obviousl}^ been so placed there that his 
e3'e might rest on them every morning before he began his 
tasks. These were the old-fashioned boxes that had gar- 
nished his mother's toilet, when he, a sickly child, slept in 
her dressing-room; the silver taper-stand which the young 
advocate had bought for her with his first five-guinea fee ; 
a row of small packets inscribed with her hand, and contain- 
ing the hair of those of her offspring that had died before 
her ; his father's snuff-box and etui-case ; and more things 



XXXviii LIFE OF SCOTT. 

of the like sort, recalling the " old familiar faces." The 
same feeling was apparent in all the arrangement of his pri- 
vate apartment. Pictures of his father and mother were the 
only ones in his dressing-room. The clumsy antique cabi- 
nets that stood there, things of a verj' different class from 
the beautiful and costly productions in the public rooms 
below, had all belonged to the furniture of George's Square. 
Even his father's rickety washing-stand, with all its cramped 
appurtenances, though exceedingly unlike what a man of his 
very scrupulous habits would have selected in these days, . 
kept its ground. The whole place seemed fitted up like a 
little chapel of the Lares. 

Such a son and parent could hardly fail in any of the other 
social relations. No man was a firmer or more indefatigable 
friend. I knew not that he ever lost one ; and a few, with 
whom, during the energetic middle stage of life, from politi- 
cal differences or other accidental circumstances, he lived 
less familiarly, had all gathered round him, and renewed the 
full warmth of early affection in his later days. There was 
enough to dignif}' the connection in tlieir eyes, but nothing 
to chill it on either side. The imagination that so completely 
mastered him, when he chose to give her the rein, was kept 
under most determined control when any of the positive 
obligations of active life came into question. A high and 
pure sense of duty presided over whatever he had to do as a 
citizen and a magistrate ; and, as a landlord, he considered 
his estate as an extension of his hearth. 

But his moral, political, and religious character has suf- 
ficiently impressed itself upon the great body of his writings. 
He is indeed one of the few gi'eat authors of modern Europe 
who stand acquitted of having written a line that ought to 
have embittered the bed of death. His works teach the 
practical lessons of morality and Christianity in the most 
captivating form — unobtrusively and unaffectedly. 



LIFE OF SCOTT. XXxix 

The race that grew up under the influence of that intellect 
can hardly be expected to appreciate fully their own obliga- 
tions to it : and 3'et, if we consider what were the tendencies 
of the minds and works that, but for his, must have been 
unrivalled in the power and opportunity to mould young- 
ideas, we may picture to ourselves in some measure the mag- 
nitude of the debt we owe to a perpetual succession, through 
thirty years, of publications unapproached in charm, and all 
instilling a high and healthy code ; a bracing, invigorating 
spirit ; a contempt of mean passions, whether vindictive or 
voluptuous ; humane charity, as distinct from moral laxity 
as from unsympathizing austerity ; sagacity too deep for cj'n- 
icism, and tenderness never degenerating into sentimentality : 
animated throughout in thought, opinion, feeling, and style, 
by one and the same pure energetic principle — a pith and 
savor of manhood ; appealing to whatever is good and loyal 
in our natures, and rebuking whatever is low and selfish. 

I have no doubt that, the more details of his personal his- 
tory are revealed and studied, the more powerfully will that 
be found to inculcate the same great lessons with his works. 
Where else shall we be taught better how prosperity may be 
extended by beneficence, and adversity confronted by exer- 
tion? Where can we see the "follies of the wise" more 
strikiugl}' rebuked, and a character more beautifully purified 
and exalted in the passage through affliction to death? 



JAMES v. — THE HIGHLANDERS AND BOR- 
DERERS OF SCOTLAND. 



[It is hoped that this brief outline, abridged from Scott's " Tales of 
a Grandfather," may not only enable the reader to gain a better knowl- 
edge of the poem, but also awaken an interest in this important epoch 
of Henry the Eighth, and Elizabeth of England, and James V. and 
Mary Queen of Scots, and her son, James VI., under whom both 
kingdoms were united.] 

THERE were two great divisions of the country : namely, 
the Highlands and the Borders, which were so much 
wilder and more barbarous than the others, that they might 
be said to be altogether without law ; and, although they were 
nominally subjected to the King of Scotland, yet when he 
desired to execute any justice in either of these great dis- 
tricts, he could not do so otherwise than by marching there 
in person, at the head of a strong body of forces, and seizing 
upon the offenders, and putting them to death with little or 
no form of trial. Such a rough course of justice, perhaps, 
made these disorderly countries quiet for a short time, but it 
rendered them still more averse to the royal government in 
their hearts, and disposed on the slightest occasion to break 
out, either into disorders amongst themselves, or into open 
rebellion. I must give you some more particular account of 
these wild and uncivilized districts of Scotland, and of the 
particular sort of people who were their inhabitants, that you 
may know what I mean when I speak of Highlanders and 
Borderers. 



xlii THE HIGHLANDERS AND BORDERERS 

The Highlauds of Scotland, so called from the rocky and 
mountainous character of the country, consist of a very large 
proportion of the northern parts of that kingdom. It was in- 
to these pathless wildernesses that the Romans drove the 
ancient inhabitants of Great Britain ; and it was from these 
that they afterwards sallied to invade and distress that part 
of Britain which the Romans had conquered, and in some 
degree civilized. The inhabitants of the Highlands spoke, 
and still speak, a language totally different from the Lowland 
Scots. That last language does not greatly differ from Eng- 
lish, and the inhabitants of both countries easily understand 
each other, though neither of them comprehend the Gaelic, 
which is the language of the Highlanders. The dress of 
these mountaineers was also different from that of the Low- 
landers. They wore a plaid, or mantle of frieze, or of a 
striped stuff called tartan, one end of which being wrapt 
round the waist, formed a short petticoat, which descended 
to the knee, while the rest was folded round them like a sort 
of cloak. They had buskins made of raw hide ; and those 
who could get a bonnet, had that covering for their heads, 
though many never wore one during their whole lives, but 
had only their own shaggy hair tied back b}' a leathern strap. 
They went always armed, carrying bows and arrows, large 
swords, which they wielded with both hands, called clay- 
mores, poleaxes, and daggers for close fight. For defence, 
they had a round wooden shield, or target, stuck full of 
nails ; and their great men had shirts of mail, not unlike to 
the flannel shirts now worn, only composed of links of iron 
instead of threads of worsted ; but the common men were so 
far from desiring armor, that they sometimes threw their 
plaids away, and fought in their shirts, which they wore very 
long and large, after the Irish fashion. 

This part of the Scottish nation was divided into clans, 
that is, tribes. The persons composing each of these clans 



OF SCOTLAND. xliii 

believed themselves all to be descended, at some distant 
period, from the same common ancestor, whose name they 
usually bore. Thus, one tribe was called MacDonald, which 
signifies the sons of Donald ; another, MacGregor, or the 
sons of Gregor ; MacNeil, the sons of Neil, and so on. 
Every one of these tribes had its own separate chief, or 
commander, whom they supposed to be the immediate repre- 
sentative of the great father of the tribe from whom they 
were all descended. To this chief they paid the most un- 
limited obedience, and willingly followed his commands in 
peace or war ; not caring although, in doing so, they trans- 
gressed the laws of the King, or went into i-ebellion against 
the King himself. Each tribe lived in a valley , or district of 
the mountains, separated from the others ; and they often 
made war upon, and fought desperately with, each other. 
But with Lowlanders they were always at war. They ditfered 
from them in language, in dress, and in manners ; and they 
believed that the richer grounds of the low country had for- 
merly belonged to their ancestors, and therefore they made 
incursions upon it, and plundered it without mercy. The 
Lowlanders, on the other hand, equal in courage, and supe- 
rior in discipline, gave many severe checks to the High- 
landers ; and thus there was almost constant war or discord 
between them, though natives of the same country. 

Some of the most powerful of the Highland chiefs set 
themselves up as independent sovereigns. Such were the 
famous Lords of the Isles, called MacDonald, to whom the 
island, called the Hebrides, lying on the north-west of Scot- 
land, might be said to belong in property. These petty 
sovereigns made alliances with the English in their own 
name. They took the part of Robert the Bruce in the wars, 
and joined him with their forces. We shall find that, after 
his time, they gave great disturbance to Scotland. The 
Lords of Lorn, MacDougals by name, were also extremely 



Xliv THE HIGHLANDERS AND BORDERERS 

powerful ; and were able to give battle to Bruce, and to 
defeat him, and place him in the greatest jeopardy. He 
revenged himself afterwards by driving John of Lorn out of 
the counti-y, and by giving great part of his possessions to 
his own nephew, Sir Colin Campbell, who became the first of 
the great family of Argyll, which afterwards enjoyed such 
power in the Highlands. 

Upon the whole, you can easily understand, that these 
Highland clans, living among such high and inaccessible 
mountains, and paying obedience to no one save their own 
chiefs, should have been very instrumental in disturbing the 
tranquility of the kingdom of Scotland. They had many 
virtues, being a kind, brave, and hospitable people, and re- 
markable for their fidelity to their chiefs ; ])ut they were 
restless, revengeful, fond of plunder, and delighting rather 
in war than in peace, in disorder than in repose. 

The Border counties were in a state little more favorable 
to a quiet or peaceful government. In some respects the 
inhabitants of the counties of Scotland lying opposite to 
England greatly resembled the Highlanders, and particularly 
in their being, like them, divided into clans, and having 
chiefs, whom they obeyed in preference to the King, or the 
officers whom he placed among them. How clanship came 
to prevail in the Highlands and Borders, and not in the 
provinces which separated them from each other, it is not 
easy to conjecture, but the fact was so. The Borders are 
not, indeed, so mountainous and inaccessible a country as 
the Highlands ; but they also are full of hills, especially on 
the more western part of the frontier, and were in early 
times covered with forests, and divided by small rivers and 
morasses into dales and vallcj^s, where the different clans 
lived, making war sometimes on the English, sometimes on 
each other, and sometimes on the more civilized country 
which lay behind them. 



OF SCOTLAND. xlv 

But though the Borderers resembled the Highlanders in 
their mode of government and lialiits of plundering, and, as 
it may be truly added, in their disobedience to the general 
government of Scotland, yet they differed in many partic- 
ulars. The Highlanders fought always on foot ; the Bor- 
derers were all horsemen. The Borderers spoke the same 
language with the Lowlanders, wore the same sort of dress, 
and carried the same arms. Being accustomed to fight 
against the English, they were also much better disciplined 
than the Highlanders. But in point of obedience to the 
Scottish government, they were not much different from the 
clans of the north. 

Military officers, called Wardens, were appointed along 
the Borders, to keep these unruly people in order ; but as 
these wardens were generallv themselves chiefs of clans, they 
did not do much to mend the evil. Robert the Bruce com- 
mitted great part of the charge of the Borders to the good 
Lord James of Douglas, who fulfilled his trust with great 
fidelit}'. But the power which the family of Douglas thus 
acquired proved afterwards, in the hands of his successors, 
very dangerous to the crown of Scotland. 

The Highlanders continued to lead this same marauding 
kind of life, owning no allegiance to any power except that 
of their chief, until about the year 1745, when Charles Ed- 
ward, the last of the Stewarts, made a most desperate attempt 
to regain the throne of his grandfather, James II. 

The Highland clans had remained loyal to the Stewarts 
during all their misfortunes, and when this brave young 
prince, trusting to their fidelit}-, landed almost alone upon 
their shores, they flocked to his standard in great numbers. 

They were successful in the earlier engagements, but 
finally, in the battle of CuUoden, were utterly defeated, the 
bravest of the clans, together with their chiefs, being slain 
on the field. The government followed up its victory with 



xlvi THE HIGHLANDERS AND BORDERERS 

unrelenting cruelty, slaughtering the fugitives, executing the 
prisoners, unci laying waste the countr3% being determined to 
crush out the last spark of this power that had for so many 
centuries disturbed the peace of both kingdoms. 

Fine military roads were built into those inaccessible glens 
and wild mountains, enabling the government to execute the 
laws throughout the realm. Severe laws, also, were passed, 
forbidding the wearing of the plaid, the national costume, 
and the bearing of arms. 

These measures were entirely successful in breaking down 
this patriarchal system ; and, although they seemed unnec- 
essarily harsh at the time, in the end they proved wise and 
beneficent. The Highlanders, no longer able to subsist on 
plundering the Lowlanders, were obliged to turn their atten- 
tion to some other means of gaining a living. Some emi- 
grated to America, others enlisted in foreign armies, but the 
great majority settled down to an agricultural life. Mingling 
together in peaceful pursuits, the difference between High- 
lander and Lowlander soon disappeared, and they became 
one people, prosperous and happy. 



James V. of Scotland. — 1513-1542. 

James V. (James Fitz- James of the poem) was the son of 
James the Fourth of Scotland, and Margaret, sister of 
Henry the Eighth of England. His father having lost his 
life on the battlefield of Flodden, the son became king when 
but a child of less than two years of age. For a while, his 
mother managed the aflfairs of the kingdom as regent ; but, be- 
coming unpopular, she not only lost the regency, but also the 
control of her son, who fell into the hands of the powerful 
family of the Douglases, who, although governing in the name 
of the young king, nevertheless kept him under such careful 



OF SCOTLAND. xlvii 

guard that the restraint became very u'ksome to hhn, and he 
determined to escape from their power. In two attempts by 
force he was unsuccessful ; but fiuallj', on pretence of going 
hunting, he escaped from his captivity, and fled into the 
strong fortress of StirUng Castle, whose governor was 
friendly to him. Here he assembled around him the nu- 
mei'ous nobility favorable to him, and threatened to declare 
a traitor any of the name of Douglas who should approach 
within twelve miles of liis person, or who should attempt to 
meddle with the administration of government. He retained, 
ever after, this implacable resentment against the Douglases, 
not permitting one of the name to settle in Scotland while he 
lived. James was especially ungenerous to one Archibald 
Douglas of Kilspindie, the one mentioned in the poem who 
had been a favorite of the young King. He was noted for 
great strength, manW appearance, and skill in all kinds of 
exercises. When an old man, becoming tired of his exile in 
England, he resolved to try the King's mercy, thinking that, 
as he had not personally offended James, he might find favor 
on account of their old intimacy. He therefore threw himself 
in the King's way one day as he returned from hunting in 
the Park at Stirling. Although it was several years since 
James had seen him, he knew him at a great distance by his 
firm and stately step. When they met he showed no sign of 
recognizing his old servant. Douglas turned, hoping still 
to obtain a glance of favorable recollection, and ran along 
by the King's side ; and, although James trotted his horse 
hard, and Douglas wore a heavy shirt of mail, yet he reached 
the castle gate as soon as the King. James passed by him, 
without the slightest sign of recognition, and entered the 
castle. Douglas, exhausted, sat down at the gate and asked 
for a cup of wine ; but no domestic dared to offer it. The 
King, however, blamed this discourtesy in his servants, say- 
ing that, but for his oath, he would have received Archibald 



xlviii THE HIGHLANDERS AND BORDERERS 

into his service. Yet he sent his command for him to retire 
to France, where the old man soon died of a broken heart. 

Freed from the stern control of the Douglas family, James 
V. now began to exercise the government in person, and dis- 
played most of the qualities of a wise and good prince. He 
was handsome in his person, and resembled his father in the 
fondness for military exercises, and the spirit of chivalrous 
honor which James IV. loved to display. He also inherited 
his father's love of justice, and his desire to establish and 
enforce wise and equal laws, which should protect the weak 
against the oppression of the great. It was easy enough to 
make laws, but to put them in vigorous exercise was of much 
greater difficult}^ ; and, in his attempt to accomplish this laud- 
able purpose, James often incurred the ill-will of the more 
powerful nobles. He was a well-educated and accomplished 
man, and, like his ancestor, James I., was a poet and musi- 
cian. He had, however, his defects. He avoided his father's 
failing of profusion, having no hoarded treasures to employ 
on pomp and show ; but he rather fell into the opposite fault, 
being of a temper too parsimonious ; and, though he loved 
state and display, he endeavored to gratify that taste as 
economically as possible, so that he has been censured as 
rather close and covetous. He was also, though the foibles 
seem inconsistent, fond of pleasure, and disposed to too 
much indulgence. It must be added that, when provoked, 
he was unrelenting even to cruelty ; for which he had some 
apology, considering the ferocit}' of the subjects over whom 
he reigned. But, on the whole, James V. was an amiable 
man and a good sovereign. 

His first care was to bring the Borders of Scotland to some 
degree of order. As before stated, these were inhabited b}' 
tribes of men, forming each a different clan, as they were 
called, and obeying no orders, save those which were given 
by their chiefs. These chiefs were supposed to represent the 



OF SCOTLAND. xlix 

first founder of the name or family. The attachment of the 
clansmen to the chief was very great ; indeed, the}' paid 
respect to no one else. In this the Borderers agreed with the 
Highlanders, as also in their love of plunder and neglect of 
the general laws of the country. But the Border men wore 
no tartan dress, and served almost always on horseback, 
whereas the Highlanders acted always on foot. The Bor- 
derers spoke the Scottish language, and not tlic Gaelic 
tongue used by the mountaineers. 

The situation of these clans on the frontiers exposed them 
to constant war ; so that they thought of nothing else but of 
collecting bands of their followers together, and making in- 
cursions, without much distinction, on the English, on the 
Lowland (or inland) Scots, or upon each other. They paid 
little respect either to times of truce or treaties of peace, but 
exercised their depredations without regard to either, and 
often occasioned wars betwixt England and Scotland which 
would not otherwise have taken place. 

James' first step was to secure the persons of the principal 
chieftains by whom these disorders were privately encour- 
aged, and who might have opposed his purposes, and im- 
prison them in separate fortresses. 

He then assembled an army, in which warlike purposes 
were united with those of sylvan sport ; for he ordered all the 
gentlemen, in the wild districts which he intended to visit, to 
bring in their best dogs, as if his only purpose had been to 
hunt the deer in those desolate regions. This was intended 
to prevent the Borderers from taking the alarm, in which 
case they would have retreated into their mountains and 
fastnesses, from whence it would have been difficult to dis- 
lodge them. 

These men had indeed no distinct idea of the offences 
which they had committed, and consequently no apprehension 
of the King's displeasure against them. The laws had been 



1 THE HIGHLANDERS AND BORDERERS 

SO long silent in that remote and disorderly conntry, that the 
outrages which were practised by the strong against the 
weak seemed to the perpetrators the natural course of 
society, and to present nothing that was worthy of punish- 
ment. Thus the King suddenly approached the castles of 
tliese great lords and barons, while they were preparing a 
great entertainment to welcome him, and caused them to be 
seized and executed. 

There is reason to censure the extent to which James car- 
ried his severity-, as being to a certain degree impolitic, and 
beyond doubt cruel and excessive. 

In the like manner, James proceeded against the Highland 
cliiefs ; and, b}' executions, forfeitures, and other severe 
measures, he brought the Northern mountaineers, as he had 
alread^^ done those of the South, into comparative subjection. 

Such were the effects of the terror struck by these general 
executions, that James was said to have made " the rush 
bush keep the cow" ; that is to say, that, even in this law- 
less part of the country, men dared no longer make free with 
property, and cattle might remain on their pastures un- 
watched. James was also enabled to draw profit from the 
lands which the crown possessed near the Borders, and is 
said to have had ten thousand sheep at one time grazing in 
Ettrick forest, under the keeping of one Andrew Bell, who 
gave the King as good an account of the flock as if they had 
been grazing in the bounds of Fife, then the most civilized 
part of Scotland. 

James V. had a custom of going about the country dis- 
guised as a private person, in order tiiat he might hear com- 
plaints which might not otherwise reach his ears, and, 
perhaps, that he might enjoy amusement Avhich he could not 
have partaken of in his avowed royal character. 

He was also very fond of hunting, and, when he pursued 
that amusement in the Highlands, he used to wear the pecu- 



OF SCOTLAND. li 

liar dress of that country, having a long and wide Highland 
shirt, and a jacket of tartan velvet, with plaid hose, and 
everything else corresponding. 

The reign of James V. was not alone distinguished by his 
personal adventures and pastimes, but is honorably remem- 
bered on account of wise laws made for the government of 
his people, and for restraining the crimes and violence which 
were frequently practised among them ; especially those of 
assassination, burning of houses, and driving of cattle, the 
usual and ready means b}^ which powerful chiefs avenged 
themselves of their feudal enemies. 

Had not James become involved in a war with Henry the 
Eighth of England, he might have been as fortunate a prince 
as his many good qualities deserved ; but, the war going 
against him, in despair and desolation he shut himself up in 
his palace, refusing to listen to consolation. A burning 
fever, the consequence of his grief and shame, seized on the 
unfortunate monarch. When they brought him tidings that 
his wife had given birth to a daughter, who afterwards be- 
came the brilliant, but most unfortunate, Mary Queen of 
Scots, he only replied, "Is it so?" reflecting on tlie alliance 
which had placed the Stewart family on the throne ; " then 
God's will be done. It came with a lass, and it will go with 
a lass." With these words, presaging the extinction of his 
house, he made a signal of adieu to his courtiers, spoke little 
more, but turned his face to the wall and, when scarcel}' 
thirty-one years old, in the very prime of life, he died of the 
most melanchol}' of all diseases, a broken heart. 



ARGUMENT. 



The scene of the following Poem is laid chiefly in the vicinity of 
Loch Katrine, in the Western Highlands of Perthshire. The time 
of Action includes Six Days, and the transactions of each Day 
occupy a Canto. 



OUTLINE OF CANTO FIRST. 



In " The Lady of the Lake " the poet describes Highland charac- 
ter and life as they existed towards the close of the middle ages, 
by means of a narrative of one of James V.'s adventures. In the 
first canto, which is entitled " The Chase," he begins with a long- 
account of a stag hunt in the Highlands of Perthshire. As the 
chase lengthens, the sportsmen one by one drop off, till at last, the 
king, who is the foremost horseman, is found alone, and his horse, 
worn out with fatigue, stumbles and falls dead. The lone hunts- 
man pursues his way through a rocky ravine, till, ascending a 
craggy height, he sees, by the light of the setting sun, Loch Katrine 
stretched beneath him in all its beauty. After gazing in admira- 
tion upon the beautiful scene, he winds his horn in the hope of 
being heard by some of his companions, and to his surprise a little 
skiff guided by a young lady shoots out from the shadow of a tree, 
and approaches the shore. The lady, thinking it was her father's 
horn she heard, draws back in fear at the sight of a stranger, but, 
after receiving his explanation, they row across the lake to her 
island home. There, her father being absent, young Ellen, as the 
lady is named, and the mistress of the mansion entertain the hunts- 
man with true highland hospitality. He discloses his name and 
rank as " The Knight of Snowdoun, James Fitz-James," and tries 
in every way, but in vain, to learn the names of his hosts. At 
length he retires to rest ; but his sleep is disturbed by dreams so 
strange and fearful that he rises from his couch, and walks out 
into the moonlight to shake off the dread visions of the night. 
After quieting his disturbed mind, he returns to his bed, says a 
prayer, and sleeps till awakened in the morning by tlie crowing of 
the heath-cock. With this the first canto ends. — Stevens & Morris. 



THE 

LADY OP THE LAKE. 

THE CHASE. 

Harp of the North ! that mouldering long hast hung 

On the witch-elm that shades Saint Fillan's spring, 
And down the fitful breeze thy numbers flung, 

Till envious ivy did around thee cling. 
Muffling with verdant ringlet every string, — 5 

O Minstrel Harp, still must thine accents sleep ? 
'Mid rustling leaves and fountains mui-muring, 

Still must thy sweeter sounds their silence keep. 
Nor bid a warrior smile, nor teach a maid to weep? 

Not thus, in ancient days of Caledon, lo 

Was thy voice mute amid the festal crowd, 

1. Harp of the North ! An invocation to ancient Scottish minstrelsy. 
The harp was formerly the national musical instrument. 

2. Witch-elm. The broad-leaved elm. Twigs cut from it were used as 
riding whips for good luck; also for divining rods. — Saint Fillan. A 
Scotch abbot of the seventh century. 

3. Numbers. Lines or verses of poetry. 

6. Minstrel. The minstrels, as the wandering singers and musicians of 
the middle ages were called, were always welcomed wherever they went. 
They sang songs recounting the valiant deeds of their entertainers and 
their ancestors. S. & M. 

10. Caledon. For Caledonia, the ancient name of Scotland. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i. 

When lay of hopeless love, or glory won, 
Aroused the fearful or subdued the proud. 

At each according pause was heard aloud 

Thine ardent symphony sublime and high ! 15 

Fair dames and crested chiefs attention bowed ; 
For still the burden of thy minstrelsy 

Was Knighthood's dauntless deed, and Beauty's match- 
less eye. 

O, wake once more ! how rude soe'er the hand 

That ventures o'er thy magic maze to stray ; 20 

O, wake once more ! though scarce my skill command 

Some feeble echoing of thine earlier lay : 
Though harsh and faint, and soon to die away, 

And all unworthy of thy nobler strain, 
Yet if one heart throb higher at its sway, 25 

The wizard note has not been touched in vain. 
Then silent be no more ! Enchantress, wake again ! 



I. 

The stag at eve had drunk his fill, 
Where danced the moon on Monan's rill, 

14. According pause. lu music, that which suitably fills the intervals. 

15. Ardent symphony. Stirring music with which the minstrel filled 
up the pauses of his lay. S. & M. 

16. Crested. Plumed. — 17. Minstrelsy. Song. 

18. Knighthood, lu the middle ages a knight was a person admitted to 
a certain military rank, as a reward for brave and gallant deeds. Knights 
took certain oaths, among which, perhaps, the most important was that 
tliey would succor the oppressed, especially ladies, whenever they had the 
opportunity. S. & M. 

20. Maze. Perplexing way. — 'H). Wizard. Enchanting. 

29. Monan. A Scotch martyr of the fourth century. 



THE CHASE. 6 

And deep his midnight lair had made 30 

In lone Glenartney's hazel shade ; 

But when the sun his beacon red 

Had kindled on Benvoirlich's head, 

The deep-mouthed bloodhound's heavy bay 

Resounded up the rocky way, 35 

And faint, from farther distance borne, 

Were heard the clanging hoof and horn. 



II. 

As Chief, who hears his warder call, 

" To arms ! the foemen storm the wall," 

The antlered monarch of the waste 40 

Sprung from his heathery couch in haste. 

But ere his fleet career he took. 

The dew-drops from his flanks he shook ; 

Like crested leader proud and high 

Tossed his beamed frontlet to the sky ; 45 

A moment gazed adown the dale, 

A moment snuffed the tainted gale, 

A moment listened to the cry, 

That thickened as the chase drew nigh ; 

30. Lair. Bed of a wild beast. 

31. Glenartney. A valley through which a small stream called the 
Artney flows. 

32. Beacon. A signal-fire on a hill or mountain. The use of the word 
here is very effective, comparing the early rays of the sun on the mountain 
top to a fire kindled for an alarm. 

33. Benvoirlich. A mountain north of Glenartney. Ben means moun- 
tain. (See map.) — 38. Warder. Keeper or guard. 

45. Beamed frontlet. The forehead of a stag, with full-grown antlers 
or horns. 

47. Tainted gale. The wind, laden with the scent or odor of the 
hunter, which the deer perceives at a great distance. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



Then, as the headmost foes appeared, so 

With one brave bound the copse he cleared, 
And, stretching forward free and far. 
Sought the wild heaths of Uam-Var. 



III. 

Yelled on the view the opening pack ; 

Rock, glen, and cavern paid them back ; 55 

To many a mingled sound at once 

The awakened mountain gave response. 

A hundred dogs baj^ed deep and strong. 

Clattered a hundred steeds along. 

Their peal the merry horns rung out, go 

A hundred voices joined the shout ; 

With hark and whoop and wild halloo, 

No rest Benvoirlich's echoes knew. 

Far from the tumult fled the roe, 

Close in her covert cowered the doe, f>5 

The falcon, from her cairn on high. 

Cast on the rout a wondering eye, 

51. Copse. Bushes, or wood of small growth. 

53. Uam-Var. Ua-var, as the name is pronoimced, or more properly 
Uaighmor, is a mountain to the north-east of the village of Callender in 
Menteith, deriving its name, which signifies the great den or cavern, from a 
sin-t of retreat among the rocks on the south side, said, hy tradition, to have 
been the abode of a giant. In latter times it was the refuge of robbers and 
banditti, who have been only extirpated within these forty or fifty years. 
Strictly speaking, this stronghold is not a cave, as the name would imply, 
but a sort of small enclosure or recess, surrounded with large rocks, and open 
above head. Scott. 

.54. Opening pack. A huntiug term, alluding to the hounds barking 
at sight of the game. — 04. Koe. A small species of deer. 

CG. T&lcon [fdwk'ii]. A hawk. — Cairn. A heap of stones. 

67. Rout. Tumultuous crowd. 



CANTO 1. THE CHASE. 7 

Till far beyond her piercing ken 

The hurricane had swept the glen. 

Faint, and more faint, its failing din 70 

Returned from cavern, cliff, and linn, 

And silence settled, wide and still, 

On the lone wood and mighty hill. 

IV. 

Less loud the sounds of sylvan war 

Disturbed the heights of Uam-Var, 75 

And roused the cavern where, 'tis told, 

A giant made his den of old ; 

For ere that steep ascent was won, 

High in his pathway hung the sun, 

And many a gallant, stayed perforce, so 

Was fain to breathe his faltering horse. 

And of the trackers of the deer. 

Scarce half the lessening pack was near; 

So shrewdly on the mountain-side 

Had the bold burst their mettle tried. 85 

V. 

The noble stag was pausing now 

Upon the mountain's southern brow, 

Where broad extended, far beneath, 

The varied realms of fair Menteith. 

With anxious eye he wandered o'er 9o 

Mountain and meadow, moss and moor, 

08. Ken. Sight. —60. Hurricane. The chase, like a violent wind, had 
swept the glen. — 71. Linn. Cataract; pool. 

74. Sylvan war. Woodland war against the stag, i.e., hunting. 
81. Fain. Glad. — 84. Shrewdly. Severely. 
89. Menteith. A district watered by the Teith. 



8 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i. 

And pondered refuge from his toil, 

By far Lochard or Aberfoyle. 

But nearer was the copsewood gray. 

That waved and wept on Loch Achray, 95 

And mingled with the pine-trees blue 

On the bold cliffs of Benvenue. 

Fresh vigor with the hope returned, 

With flying foot the heath he spurned, 

Held westward with unwearied race, lOO 

And left behind the panting chase. 

VI. 

'Twere long to tell what steeds gave o'er, 

As swept the hunt through Cambusmore ; 

What reins were tightened in despair, 

When rose Benledi's ridge in air ; los 

Who flagged upon Bochastle's heath, 

Who shunned to stem the flooded Teith, — 

For twice that day, from shore to shore, 

The gallant stag swam stoutly o'er. 

93. Lochard. A small lake near the village of Aberfoyle. 

95. Loch Achray. "The Lake of the Level Field." A small lake at 
the foot of Benvenue. —07. Benvenue. "Center Momitain," being mid- 
way between Ben Lomond and Ben Ledi. (See map.) 

99. Heath. A low shrub very abundant on the hills and mountains of 
Scotland. Its foliage gives to the landscape a very soft olive tinge; its 
blossoms, a purplish hue. 

103. Cambusmore. An estate near Callander. 

105. Benledi. A mountain near Callander. The name signifies 
" Mountain of God." 

lOG. Bochastle's heath. A flat plain between the east end of Loch 
Vennachar and Oallander. Taylor. 

107. The flooded Teith. The Teith, receiving the waters of Lochs 
Lubnaig, Voil, Vennachar, Achray, and Katrine, was liable to overflow its 
banks in rainy seasons. 



CANTO I. THE CHASE. 9 

Few were the stragglers, following far, no 

That reached the lake of Vennachar; 
And when the Brigg of Turk was won, 
The headmost horseman rode alone. 

vn. 
Alone, but with unbated zeal, 
That horseman plied the scourge and steel ; ns 
For, jaded now, and spent with toil. 
Embossed with foam, and dark with soil, 
While every gasp with sobs he drew. 
The laboring stag strained full in view. 
Two dogs of black Saint Hubert's breed, 120 

Unmatched for courage, breath, and speed, 
Fast on his flying traces came, 
And all but won that desperate game ; 
For, scarce a spear's length from his haunch, 
Vindictive toiled the bloodhounds stanch ; 125 
Nor nearer might the dogs attain. 
Nor farther might the quarry strain. 
Thus up the margin of the lake, 
Between the precipice and brake, 
O'er stock and rock their race they take. loO 

111. Vennachar. "Lake of the Fair Valley," one of the three lakes 
around which the scenery of the poem lies. — 112. Brigg of Turk. An old 
stone bridge over the Turk, a small stream in Glentiulas valley. 

115. Scourge and Steel. Whip and spur. —117. Embossed. Hunted 
until the foam from the mouth covered the stag like raised figures in orna- 
mental work. — 120. Saint Hubert. The hounds which are called St. Hu- 
bert's are found of various colors, but are commonly all black. The abbots 
of St. Hubert have always kept some of this race of hounds in remembrance 
of their patron saint, who was a hunter. — 125. Vindictive. Revengeful. — 
Stanch hound. Reliable in the pursuit of game. 

127. Quarry. The hunted animal. — 129. Brake. Coarse ferns; bushes. 

130. Stock. Log or stump. 



10 THE LADY 0¥ THE LAKE. 



VIII. 



The Hunter marked that mountain high, 

The lone lake's western boundary, 

And deemed the stag must turn to bay. 

Where that huge rampart barred the way ; 

Already glorying in the prize, 135 

Measured his antlers with his eyes ; 

For the death-wound and death-halloo 

Mustered his breath, his wliinyard drew : — 

But thundering as he came prepared, 

With ready arm and weapon bared, 140 

The wily quarry shunned the shock, 

And turned him from the opposing rock ; 

Then, dashing down a darksome glen, 

Soon lost to hound and Hunter's ken, 

In the deep Trosachs' wildest nook 145 

His solitary refugee took. 



13o. Turn to bay. The turning of the stag to face and fight his pursuers 
when no longer ahle to escape them. — 134. Bampart. Benvenue. 

137. For- the death wound, etc. When tlie stag turned to bay, the 
ancient hunter had the perilous task of going in upon, and killing or dis- 
abling the desperate animal. At certain times of the year this was held 
particularly dangerous, a wound received from a stag's horn being then 
deemed poisonous, and more dangerous than one from the tusks of a boar. 
Scott. — Death-halloo. The shout when the huntsman had given the 
death stroke to the stag. — 138. Whinyard. A sword or hanger. 

145. Trosachs. The name Trosachs, or "bristled territory," is gen- 
erally applied to the whole country about Loch Katrine, but, strictly speak- 
ing, belongs only to the region between Lochs Katrine and Achray. A fine 
turnpike, shaded by overhanging trees and abrupt mountain cliffs, winds 
through this beautiful wild valley. It is the more enjoyable because it is 
so rare in Scotland to see anything like a native forest. The trees are 
mostly set out when very small and so thickly and irregularly as to resem- 
ble a natural growth. They are cultivated not so much for the timber as a 
shelter for game. The mountains of Scotland for the most part are treeless. 
With the exception of a few of the highest peaks which are barren, they 



THE CHASE. 11 

There, while close couched the thicket shed 

Cold dews and wild flowers on his head, 

He heard the baffled dogs in vain 

Rave tla-oiigli the hollow pass amain, 150 

Chiding the rocks that yelled again. 



IX. 

Close on the hounds the Hunter came. 

To cheer them on the vanished game ; 

But, stumbling in the rugged dell, 

The gallant horse exhausted fell. 155 

The impatient rider strove in vain 

To rouse him with the spur and rein, 

For the good steed, his labors o'er. 

Stretched his stiff limbs, to rise no more ; 

Then, touched with pity and remorse, i(50 

He sorrowed o'er the expiring horse. 

" I little thought, when first thy rein 

I slacked upon the banks of Seine, 

That Highland eagle e'er should feed 

On thy fleet limbs, my matchless steed ! 165 

Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day. 

That costs thy life, my gallant gray ! " 

are covered to the very tops with heather aud grass kept green by the fre- 
quent rains. Not only are these beautiful mountains with the thousands of 
white sheep moving to and fro over their sides pleasant to look upon, but 
they form a great source of wealth to the people as is well known by the 
quantity and excellence of the Scotch woollens. 

147. Couched. Concealed. — 150. Amain. Vigorously. 

151. Chiding, etc. The constant barking echoed back by the rocks. 

1G.3. Seine. A river in France. 

16(5. Woe worth the chase. Woe be to the chase. Worth used in the 
sense of be, imperative. 



12 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i. 

X. 

Then through the dell his horn resounds, 

From vain pursuit to call the hounds. 

Back limped, with slow and crippled pace, 170 

The sulky leaders of the chase ; 

Close to their master's side they pressed, 

With drooping tail and humbled crest ; 

But still the dingle's hollow throat 

Prolonged the swelling bugle-note. i75 

The owlets started from their dream. 

The eagles answered with their scream. 

Round and around the sounds were cast. 

Till echo seemed an answering blast ; 

And on the Hunter hied his way, 180 

To join some comrades of the day, 

Yet often paused, so strange the road. 

So wondrous were the scenes it showed. 

XI. 

The western waves of ebbing day 

Rolled o'er the glen their level way ; 185 

Each purple peak, each flinty spire, 

Was bathed in floods of living fire. 

But not a setting beam could glow 

Within the dark ravines below, 

Where twined the path in shadow hid, lOO 

Round many a rocky pyramid. 

Shooting abruptly from the dell 

Its thunder-splintered pinnacle ; 

174. Dingle. A .small valley between hills. — ISO. Hied. Hastened. 
185. Level way. Horizontal rays from the setting sun. 
1915. Pinnacle. A lofty summit. 



CANTO I. THE chasp:. 13 

Round many an insulated mass, 

The native bulwarks of the pass, 195 

Huge as the tower which builders vain 

Presumptuous piled on Shinar's plain. 

Tlie rocky summits, split and rent, 

Formed turret, dome, or battlement, 

Or seemed fantastically set 200 

With cupola or minaret. 

Wild crests as pagod ever decked. 

Or mosque of Eastern architect. 

Nor were these earth-born castles bare. 

Nor lacked they many a banner fair ; 205 

For, from their shivered brows displayed. 

Far o'er the unfathomable glade. 

All twinkling with the dewdrops sheen, 

The brier-rose fell in streamers green. 

And creeping shrubs of thousand dyes 210 

Waved in the west-wind's summer sia'hs. 

XII. 

Boon nature scattered, free and wild. 

Each plant or flower, the mountain's child. 

Here eglantine embalmed the air. 

Hawthorn and hazel mingled there ; 21.") 

194. Insulated. Standing by itself like an island. — 195. Native bul- 
warks. Natural fortifications or defences. — 196. Tower. Tower of 
Babel. Genesis xi. 1-9. — 199. Turret. A small tower forming a part of a 
building. — Battlement. A wall round the top of a castle, with openings 
to look through and annoy the enemy. — 201. Minaret. A high, slender 
turret on a Mohammedan Mosque from which the people are called to 
prayers. — 202. Fagod. Pagoda, a heathen temple. — 203. Mosque. A 
Mohammedan temple of worship. — 204. Earth-born castles. Mountains. 

207. Glade. An opening through a wood. — 208. Sheen. Shining. 

214. Eglantine. A species of wild rose: sweet-brier. 



14 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i. 

The primrose j)ale and violet flower 

Found in each cleft a narrow bower ; 

Foxglove and nightshade, side by side, 

Emblems of punishment and pride. 

Grouped their dark hues with every stain 220 

The weather-beaten crags retain. 

With boughs that quaked at every breath, 

Gray birch and aspen wept beneath ; 

Aloft, the ash and warrior oak 

Cast anchor in the rifted rock ; 225 

And, higher 3'-et, the pine-tree hung 

His shattered trunk, and frequent flung. 

Where seemed the cliffs to meet on high. 

His boughs athwart the narrowed sky. 

Highest of all, where white peaks glanced, 2:50 

Where glistening streamers waved and danced. 

The wanderer's eye could barely view 

The summer heaven's delicious blue ; 

So wondrous wild, the whole might seem 

The scenery of a fairy dream. 235 

XIII. 

Onward, amid the copse 'gan peep 

A narrow inlet, still and deep. 

Affording scarce such breadth of brim 

As served the wild duck's brood to swim. 

Lost for a space, through thickets veering, 240 

But broader when again appearing. 

Tall rocks and tufted knolls their face 

Coidd on the dark-blue mirror trace ; 

223. Aspen. Called also the trembling poplar, becau.se of the quivering 
of the leaves in the slightest breeze. —240. Veering. Turning or winding. 



CANTO I. THE CHASE. 15 

And farther as tlie Hunter strayed, 

Still broader sweep its channels made. 245 

The shaggy mounds no longer stood, 

Emerging from entangled wood, 

But, wave-encircled, seemed to float. 

Like castle girdled with its moat ; 

Yet broader floods extending still 250 

Divide them from their parent hill, 

Till each, retiring, claims to be 

An islet in an inland sea. 

XIV. 

And now, to issue from the glen, 

No pathway meets the wanderer's ken, 255 

Unless he climb with footing nice 

A far-projecting precipice. 

The broom's tough roots his ladder made, 

The hazel saplings lent their aid ; 

And thus an airy point he won, 260 

Where, gleaming with the setting sun, 

One burnished sheet of living gold, 

Loch Katrine lay beneath him rolled, 

249. Moat. A ditch round a castle for defence. 

25(j. Unless he climb, etc. Until the present road was made through 
the romantic pass which I have presumptuously attempted to describe in 
the preceding stanzas, there was no mode of issuing out of the defile called 
the Trosachs, excepting by a sort of ladder, composed of the branches and 
roots of trees. Scott. — 258. Broom. A large, bushy shrub having tough, 
leafless stems and flowers of a deep golden yellow. Brooms were so called 
because they were originally made from it. S. & M. 

2(i3. Loch Katrine. The scene of the poem is one of the most beautiful 
of the Scottish lakes, situated in Perthshire. It is about eight miles long 
and two miles wide, serpentine in shape, and surroimded by high mountains 
and deep ravines. A small steamer plies on the lake. Near its outlet is 
situated Ellen's Isle in the wild region of the Trosachs. It is supposed to 
have derived its name from " Catterins or Ketterins, a wild band of robbers, 
who urowled about its shores to the terror of all wayfarers." 



16 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i. 

In all her length far winding lay. 

With promontory, creek, and bay, 2(55 

And islands that, empurpled bright, 

Floated amid the livelier light. 

And mountains that like giants stand 

To sentinel enchanted land. 

High on tlie south, huge Benvenne 270 

Down to the lake in masses threw 

Crags, knolls, and mounds, confusedly liurled. 

The fragments of an earlier world : 

A wildering forest feathered o'er 

His ruined sides and summit hoar, 275 

While on the north, through middle air, 

Ben-an heaved hiph his forehead l)are. 



XV. 

From the steep promontory gazed 

The stranger, raptured and amazed. 

And, " What a scene were here," he cried, 280 

" For princely pomp or churchman's pride ! 

On this bold brow, a lordly tower ; 

In that soft vale, a lady's l)ower ; 

On yonder meadow far away 

The turrets of a cloister gray ; 285 

How blithely might the bugle-horn 

Chide on the lake the lingering morn ! 

How sweet at eve the lover's lute 

Chime when the groves were still and mute ! 

26n. Sentinel. To guard. —274. Wildering. Bewildering. 
277. Ben-an. "Little Mountain," lying north of the Trosachs. 
285. Cloister. A place of retirement from the world for religious duties: 
a convent. A cloister for women is called a ininnery; for men, a monastery. 



CANTO I. THE CHASE. 17 

And when the midnight moon shonkl lave 290 

Her forehead in the silver wave, 

How solemn on the ear would come 

The holy matins' distant hum, 

While the deep peal's commanding tone 

Should wake, in 3'onder islet lone, 295 

A sainted hermit from his cell. 

To drop a bead with everj^ knell ! 

And bugle, lute, and bell, and all, 

Should each bewildered stranger call 

To friendly feast and lighted hall. 300 

XVI. 
'•' Blithe were it then to wander here ! 
But now — beshrew yon nimble deer I — 
Like that same hermit's, thin and spare. 
The copse must give my evening fare ; 
Some mossy bank my couch must be, 305 

Some rustling oak my canopy. 
Yet pass we that ; the war and cliase 
Give little choice of resting-place ; — 
A summer night in greenwood spent 
Were but to-morrow's merriment : 3io 

But hosts may in these wilds abound. 
Such as are better missed than found ; 
To meet with Highland plunderers here 
Were worse than loss of steed or deer. — 

290. Lave. Bathe. — 293. Matins. Early morning prayers in Catholic 
churches. — 297. Bead. Formerly meant a prayer, and hence came to be 
applied to the small perforated balls used in keeping an account of the num- 
ber of prayers recited. — "02. Beshrew. " May ill betide " ; a slight curse. 

313. Highland plunderers. The class who inhabited the romantic 
regions in the neighborhood of Loch Katrine, were, even until a late period, 
much addicted to predatory excursions upon their Lowland neighbors. Scott. 



18 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



CANTO I. 



I am alone ; — my bugle-strain 3i5 

May call some straggler of the train ; 
Or, fall the worst that may betide, 
Ere now this falchion has been tried." 

XVII. 

But scarce again his horn he wound, 

When lo ! forth starting at the sound, 320 

From underneath an aged oak 

That slanted from the islet rock, 

A damsel guider of its way, 

A little skiff shot to the bay, 

That round the promontory steep 325 

Led its deep line in graceful sweep, 

Eddying, in almost viewless wave, 

The weeping willow twig to lave. 

And kiss, with whispering sound and slow. 

The beach of pebbles bright as snow, 330 

The boat had touched this silver strand 

Just as the Hunter left his stand, 

And stood concealed amid the brake. 

To view this Lady of the Lake. 

The maiden paused, as if again 335 

She thought to catch the distant strain. 

With head upraised, and look intent. 

And eye and ear attentive bent. 

And locks flung back, and lips apart, 

Like monument of Grecian art, 340 

In listening mood, she seemed to stand. 

The guardian Naiad of the strand. 

318. Falchion [/((wl'rJnni]. A broadsword with slightly curved point. 
340. Monument of Grecian art. A statue. — 342. Naiad [A'^a'2/ad]. A 
water-nymph or goddess presiding over rivers and springs. 



CANTO I. THE CHASE. 19 

XVIII. 

And ne'er did Grecian chisel trace 

A Nymph, a Naiad, or a Grace, 

Of finer form or lovelier face ! 345 

What though the sun, with ardent frown. 

Had slightly tinged her cheek with brown, — 

The sportive toil, which, short and light, 

Had dyed her glowing hue so bright. 

Served too in hastier swell to show 350 

Sliort glimpses of a breast of snow : 

What though no rule of courtly grace 

To measured mood had trained her pace, — 

A foot more light, a step more true. 

Ne'er from the heath-flower dashed the dew ; 355 

E'en the slight harebell raised its head. 

Elastic from her airy tread : 

What though upon her speech there hung 

The accents of the mountain tongue, — 

Those silver sounds, so soft, so dear, 360 

Tlie listener held his breath to hear I 

XIX. 

A chieftain's daughter seemed the maid ; 

Her satin snood, her silken plaid, 

Her golden brooch, such birth betrayed. 

344. Graces. Beautiful females represented by ancient writers as 
attendants of Venus. — 353. Measured mood. Studied behavior. 

363. Snood. A head-band worn by Scottish maidens. — Plaid. Pro- 
nounced I'daijed by the Scotch. It consisted of about a dozen yards of 
woollen cloth, checked with threads of various bright colors. It was 
wrapped around the middle of the body, fastened with a belt, and ex- 
tended down to the knee. It was much worn as an over-garment by the 
Highlanders of both sexes, and each clan was distinguished by its own 
peculiar plaid or tartan. — 364. Brooch [&roc7i]. Breastpin. 



20 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i. 

And seldom was a snood amid sos 

Such wild luxuriant ringlets hid, 
Whose glossy black to shame might bring 
The plumage of the raven's wing ; 
And seldom o'er a breast so fair 
Mantled a plaid with modest care, "'Tt' 

And never brooch the folds combined 
Above a heart more good and kind. 
Her kindness and her worth to spy, 
You need but gaze on Ellen's eye ; 
Not Katrine in her mirror blue :j75 

Gives back the shaggy banks more true, 
Than every free-born glance confessed 
The guileless movements of her breast ; 
Whether joy danced in her dark eye, 
Or woe or pity claimed a sigh, 380 

Or filial love was glowing there. 
Or meek devotion poured a prayer. 
Or tale of injury called forth 
The indignant spirit of the North. 
One only passion unrevealed 385 

With maiden pride the maid concealed, 
. Yet not less purely felt the flame ; — 
O, need I tell that passion's name ? 

XX. 

Impatient of the silent horn, 
Now on the gale her voice was borne : — 3i)0 

" Father ! " she cried ; the rocks around 
Loved to prolong the gentle sound. 

368. Raven. A bird like tlie crow. 

381. Filial love. The love of son or daughter for a parent. 



CANTO 1. THE CHASE. 21 

Awhile she paused, no answer came ; — 

"Malcohn, was thine the blast?" the name 

Less resolutely uttered fell, 395 

The echoes could not catch the swell. 

•' A stranger I," the Huntsman said. 

Advancing from the hazel shade. 

The maid, alarmed, with hasty oar 

Pushed her light shallop from the shore, 4(X» 

And when a space was gained between, 

Closer she drew her bosom's screen ; — 

So forth the startled swan would swing. 

So turn to prune his ruffled wing. 

Then safe, though fluttered and amazed, 405 

She paused, and on the stranger gazed. 

Not his the form, nor his the eye, 

That youthful maidens wont to fly. 

XXI. 

On his bold visage middle age 

Had slightly pressed its signet sage, 4io 

Yet had not quenched the open truth 

And fiery vehemence of youth ; 

Forward and frolic glee was there. 

The will to do, the soul to dare, 

The sparkling glance, soon blown to fire, «'> 

Of hasty love or headlong ire. 

His limbs were cast in manly mould 

For hardy sports o» contest bold ; 

And though in peaceful garb arrayed, 

And weaponless except his blade, 420 

404. Prune. To trim and arrange the feathers with the bill. — 408. Wont. 
Are accustomed. — 410. Signet sage. Seal of wisdom: impression of gravity. 



22 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i. 

His stately mien as well implied 

A high-born heart, a martial pride. 

As if a baron's crest he wore, 

And sheathed in armor trode the shore. 

Slighting the petty need he showed, 425 

He told of his benighted road ; 

His ready speech flowed fair and free. 

In phrase of gentlest courtesy, 

Yet seemed that tone and gesture bland 

Less used to sue than to command. 430 

XXII. 

Awhile the maid the stranger eyed, 

And, reassured, at length replied, 

That Highland halls were open still 

To wildered wanderers of the hill. 

" Nor think you unexpected come 435 

To yon lone isle, our desert home ; 

Before the heath had lost the dew. 

This morn, a couch was pulled for you ; 

On yonder mountain's purple head 

Have ptarmigan and heath-cock bled, 440 

And our broad nets have swept the mere. 

To furnish forth your evening cheer." — 

" Now, by the rood, my lovely maid. 

Your courtesy has erred," he said ; 

" No right have I to claim, misplaced, 445 

The welcome of expected guest. 

425. Slighting the need. Treating lightly his lack of food and shelter. 
42(;. Benighted. Overtakenby night. — 440. Ptarmigan. White grouse. 
— Heath-cock. Black grouse. —441. Mere. Lake. 

443. By the rood. By the cross. A phrase formerly used iu swearing. 



CANTO I. THE CHASE. 23 

A wanderer, here by fortune tost, 

My way, my friends, my courser lost, 

I ne'er before, believe me, fair. 

Have ever drawn your mountain air, 450 

Till on this lake's romantic strand 

1 found a fay in fairy land ! " — 

XXIII. 

" I well believe," the maid replied. 

As her light skiff approached the side, — 

"I well believe, that ne'er before 455 

Your foot has trod Loch Katrine's shore ; 

But yet, as far as yesternight. 

Old Allan-bane foretold your plight, — 

A gray-haired sire, whose eye intent 

Was on the visioned future bent. 460 

He saw your steed, a dappled gray. 

Lie dead beneath the birchen way ; 

Painted exact your form and mien, 

Your hunting-suit of Lincoln green. 

That tasselled horn so gayly gilt, 465 

That falchion's crooked blade and hilt, 

That cap with heron plumage trim, 

452. Fay. An imaginary spirit ; a fairy. 

460. On the visioned future bent. If force of evidence could authorize 
us to believe facts inconsistent with the general laws of nature, enough 
might be produced in favor of the existence of the Second-sight. "The 
second-sight is a singular faculty of seeing an otherwise invisible object 
without any previous means used by the person that used it for that end : 
the vision makes such a lively impression upon the seers, that they neither 
see nor think of anything else, except the vision, as long as it continues; 
and then they appear pensive or jovial, according to the object that was 
represented to them." Scott. — 4(i3. Mien. Manner. —464. Lincoln green. 
The color of cloth formerly made in Lincoln and worn by the Lowland 
huntsmen. — 467. Heron. A wading bird with long bill, neck, and legs. 



24 I'HE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i. 

And yon two hounds so dark and grim. 

He bade that all should ready be 

To grace a guest of fair degree ; 470 

But light I held his prophecy, 

And deemed it was my father's horn 

Whose echoes o'er the lake were borne." 

XXIV. 

The stranger smiled : — " Since to your home 

A destined errant-knight I come, 475 

Announced by prophet sooth and old. 

Doomed, doubtless, for achievement bold, 

I'll lightly front each high emprise 

For one kind glance of those bright eyes. 

Permit me first the task to guide 480 

Your fairy frigate o'er the tide." 

The maid, with smile suppressed and sly. 

The toil unwonted saw him try; 

For seldom, sure, if e'er before, 

His noble hand had grasped an oar: 4.sr) 

Yet with main strength his strokes he dre\\'. 

And o'er the lake the shallop flew; 

With heads erect and whimpering cry, 

The hounds behind their passage ply. 

Nor frequent does the bright oar break 4!«i 

The darkening mirror of the lake, 

Until the rocky isle they reach. 

And moor their shallop on the beach. 

475. Errant-knight. A knight wandering in search of adventure. 

47G. Sooth. True. — 478. Emprise. A dangerous undertaking. 

492. Rocky isle. Elleu'.s Isle, situated at the foot of the beautiful Loeli 
ivatrine, is a small island containing two or three acres of land rising ab- 
ruptly from the water to a height of from twenty-five to fifty feet. It is 



THE CHASE. 25 



XXV. 



The stranger viewed the shore around ; 

"Twas all so close with copsewood bound, 495 

Nor track nor pathway might declare 

That human foot frequented there, 

Until the mountain maiden showed 

A clambering unsuspected road, 

That winded through the tangled screen, 5()o 

And opened on a narrow green, 

Where weeping birch and willow round 

With tlieir long fibres swept the ground. 

Here, for retreat in dangerous hour. 

Some chief had framed a rustic bower. 505 

XXVI. 

It was a lodge of ample size. 

But strange of structure and device ; 

Of such materials as around 

The workman's hand had readiest found. 

covered with a thick undergrowth of shrubbery, ferns, honeysuckle, and 
heather, with a few native birclaes and pines. The lauding is in a slight 
recess hidden by trees. The ascent is up a steep bank, the roots of the 
trees forming steps in the winding path well trodden by the thousands of 
travellers yearly visiting this wild and romantic spot. As the traveller 
lingers here he recalls the events of this poem more as matters of history 
than the creation of the great Poet. Beautiful as are lake, isle, and " Silvan 
Strand," one is glad to yield a grateful tribute to the memory of him who 
has invested this spot with a charm that shall endure so long as the love of 
knight and maiden shall interest mortals. 

504. For retreat in dangerous hour. The Celtic chieftains, whose 
lives were continually exposed to peril, had usually, in the most retired 
spot of their domains, some place of retreat for the hour of necessity, which, 
as circumstances would admit, was a tower, a cavern, or a rustic hut, in a 
strong and secluded situation. One of these last gave refuge to the un- 
fortunate Charles Edward, in his perilous wanderings after the battle of 
Culloden Scott. —507. Device. Design. 



26 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i. 

Lopped of their boughs, their hoar trunks bared, 5io 

And by the hatchet rudely squared. 

To give the walls their destined height, 

The sturdy oak and ash unite ; 

While moss and clay and leaves combined 

To fence each crevice from the wind. 515 

The lighter pine-trees overhead 

Their slender length for rafters spread. 

And withered heath and rushes dry 

Supplied a russet canopy. 

Due westward, fronting to the green, 52o 

A rural portico was seen. 

Aloft on native pillars borne. 

Of mountain fir with bark unshorn, 

Where Ellen's hand had taught to twine 

The ivy and Idaean vine, 525 

The clematis, the favored flower 

Which boasts the name of virgin-bower, 

And every hardy plant could bear 

Loch Katrine's keen and searching air. 

An instant in this porch she stayed, 530 

And gayly to the stranger said : 

" On heaven and on thy lady call. 

And enter the enchanted hall ! " 

XXVII. 

" My hope, my heaven, my trust must be. 

My gentle guide, in following thee ! " — 5[<5 

He crossed the threshold, — and a clang 

Of angry steel that instant rang. 

525. Idsean vine. Red whortleberry. Ida is a mountain in Crete. 
528. Which could bear ; relative omitted. 



CANTO I. THE CHASE. 27 

To his bold brow liis spirit rushed, 

But soon for vain alarm he blushed, 

When on the floor he saw displayed, 540 

Cause of the din, a naked blade 

Dropped from the sheath, that careless flung 

Upon a stag's luige antlers swung ; 

For all around, the walls to grace, 

Hung tropliies of the fight or chase : 545 

A target there, a bugle here, 

A Ijattle-axe, a hunting-spear, 

And broadswords, bows, and arrows store. 

With the tusked trophies of the boar. 

Here grins the wolf as when he died, 550 

And there the wild-cat's brindled hide 

The frontlet of the elk adorns. 

Or mantles o'er the bison's horns ; 

Pennons and flags defaced and stained. 

That blackening streaks of blood retained, 555 

And deer-skins, da})pled, dun, and white, 

With otter's fur and seal's unite, 

In rude and uncouth tapestry all, 

To garnish forth the sylvan hall. 

XXVIII. 

The wondering stranger round him gazed, 560 

And next the fallen weapon raised : — 

Few were the arms whose sinewy strength 

Sufficed to stretch it forth at length. 

And as the brand he poised and swayed, 

" I never knew but one," he said, 565 

545. Trophies. Things taken as signs of victory. — 546. Target. A 
small shield used for defence in battle. — 556. Dun. Dark brown. 
559. Garnish. Decorate or furnish. 



28 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i. 

" Whose stalwart aim might brook to wield 

A blade like this in battle-field." 

She sighed, then smiled and took the word : 

'' You see the guardian champion's sword ; 

As light it trembles in his hand 570 

As in my grasp a hazel wand : 

My sire's tall form might grace the part 

Of Ferragus or Ascabart, 

But in the absent giant's hold 

Are women now, and menials old." 575 

XXIX. 

The mistress of the mansion came, 

Mature of age, a graceful dame. 

Whose easy step and stately port 

Had well become a princely court. 

To whom, though more than kindred knew, 580 

Young Ellen gave a mother's due. 

Meet welcome to her guest she made. 

And every courteous rite was paid 

That hospitality could claim, 

Though all unasked his birth and name. 585 

566. Brook. Endure. —573. Ferragus and Ascabart. Fabled giants. 

575. Menials. Servants. — 578. Port. Bearing, deportment. 

580. More than kindred knew. Ellen's mother being dead, she loved 
tliis Lady Margaret, her maternal aunt, as though she were her mother, 
and treated her as .such. S. & M. 

585. Unasked his birth and name. The Highlanders, who carried 
hospitality to a ijunctilious excess, are said to have considered it as churlish 
to ask a stranger liis name or lineage, before he had taken refreshment. 
Feuds were so frequent among them, that a contrary rule would in many 
cases have produced the discovery of some circumstance which might 
have excluded the guest of the benefit of the assistance he stood in need 
nf. Scott. 



CANTO I. THE CHASE. 29 

Such then the reverence to a guest, 

That fellest foe might join the feast, 

And from his deadliest foeman's door 

Unquestioned turn, the banquet o'er. 

At length his rank the stranger names, 590 

"■ The Knight of Snowdoun, James Fitz-James ; 

Lord of a barren heritage, 

Which his brave sires, from age to age, 

By their good swords had held with toil 

His sire had fallen in such turmoil, 595 

And he, God wot, was forced to stand 

Oft for his right with blade in hand. 

This morning with Lord Moray's train 

He chased a stalwart stag in vain, 

Outstripped his comrades, missed the deer, <iOO 

Lost his good steed, and wandered here." , 

XXX. 

Fain would the Knight in turn require 

The name and state of Ellen's sire. 

Well showed the elder lady's mien 

That courts and cities she had seen ; 605 

Ellen, though more her looks displayed 

The simple grace of sylvan maid. 

In speech and gesture, form and face. 

Showed she was come of gentle race. 

'Twas strange in ruder rank to find (jio 

Such looks, such manners, and such mind. 

Each hint the Knight of Snowdoun gave. 

Dame Margaret heard with silence grave ; 

587. Fellest. Most cruel. 591. Snowdoun. Name of Stirling Castle. 
SeeCauto VI.,liue78y. — 592. Heritage. Inheritauce. — 59G. Wot. Knows. 



30 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i 

Or Ellen, innocently gay, 

Turned all inquiry light away : — 6i5 

" Weird women we ! by dale and down 

We dwell, afar from tower and town. 

We stem the flood, we ride the blast, 

On wandering knights our spells we cast : 

While viewless minstrels touch the string, 620 

'Tis thus our charmed rhymes we sing." 

She sung, and still a harp unseen 

Filled up the symphony between. 

XXXL 

Soldier, rest! thy warfare o'er. 

Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking ; 625 
Dream of battled fields no more, 

Days of danger, nights of waking. 
In our isle's enchanted hall. 

Hands unseen thy couch are strewing, 
Fairy strains of music fall, 630 

Every sense in slumber dewing. 
Soldier, rest I thy warfare o'er, 
Dream of fighting fields no more ; 
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking, 
Morn of toil, nor night of waking. 635 

" No rude sound shall reach thine ear. 
Armor's clang or war-steed champing, 

Trump nor pibroch summon here 

Mustering clan or squadron tramping. 

616. Weird. Skilled iu witchcraft. — 631. Dewing. Bedewing; r^^- 
f resiling. — 638. Pi'brocli. A Highland air played upon the bagpipe. 



CAXTO I. THE CHASE. 31 

Yet the lark's slirill fife may come 640 

At the daybreak from the fallow, 
And the bittern sound his drum, 

Booming from the sedgy shallow. 
Ruder sounds shall none be near, 
Ouards nor warders challenge here, Mn 

Here's no war-steed's neigh and champing, 
Shouting clans or squadrons stamping." 

xxxn. 

She paused, — then, blushing, led the la}^, 

To grace the stranger of the "day. 

Her mellow notes awhile prolong 650 

The cadence of the flowing song, 

Till to her lips in measured frame 

The minstrel verse spontaneous came. 

Song Conttmitb. 

" Huntsman, rest I thy chase is done ; 

While our slumbrous spells assail ye, 655 

Dream not, with the rising sun. 

Bugles here shall sound reveille. 
Sleep ! the deer is in his den ; 

SleejD ! thy hounds are by thee lying ; 
Sleep ! nor dream in yonder glen wio 

■ How thy gallant steed lay dying. 

641. Fallow. Ploughed land for some time uncultivated. 

642. Bittern. A wading bird, allied to the heron. 

64;?. Sedgy. Covered with a kind of plant which resembles coarse grass 
or rush, and grows in tufts. — 645. Warders. Keepers or sentinels. 

651. Cadence. The falling or variation of the voice. 

657. Reveille [Revdl'ya] . The beat of drums, or bugle-call at day- 
break for awakening the soldiers. 



82 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i. 

Huntsman, rest ! thy chase is done ; 

Think not of the rising sun, 

For at dawning to assail ye 

Here no bugles sound reveille." H(;r. 

xxxTir. 

The hall was cleared, — the stranger's bed. 

Was there of mountain heather spread, 

Where oft a hundred guests had lain, 

And dreamed their forest sports again. 

But vainly did the heath-flower shed fiio 

Its moorland fragrance round his head ; 

Not Ellen's spell had lulled to rest 

The fever of his troubled breast. 

In broken dreams the image rose 

Of varied perils, pains, and woes : t>75 

His steed now flounders in the brake, 

Now sinks his barge upon the lake ; 

Now leader of a broken host, 

His standard falls, his honor's lost. 

Then, — from my couch may heavenly might tisu 

Chase that worst phantom of the night ! — 

Again returned the scenes of youth, 

Of confident, undoubting truth ; 

Again his soul he interchanged 

With friends whose hearts were long estranged, 'isri 

They come, in dim procession led, 

The cold, the faithless, and the dead; 

As warm each hand, each brow as gay, 

As if they parted yesterday. 

G81. Phantom. A vision of the faiicy: a ijhost. 



CANTO I THE CHASE. 33 

And doubt distracts him at the view, — 690 

O were his senses false or true? 
Dreamed he of death or broken vow, 
Or is it all a vision now? 

XXXIV. 

At length, with Ellen in a grove 

He seemed to walk and speak of love ; 095 

She listened with a blush and sigh, 

His suit was warm, his hopes were high. 

He sought her yielded hand to clasp, 

And a cold gauntlet met his grasp : 

The phantom's sex was changed and gone. tch) 

Upon its head a helmet shone ; 

Slowly enlarged to giant size, 

With darkened cheek and threatening eyes. 

The grisly visage, stern and hoar, 

To Ellen still a likeness bore. — 705 

He woke, and, panting with affright. 

Recalled the vision of the night. 

The hearth's decaying brands were red. 

And deep and dusky lustre shed. 

Half showing, half concealing, all 710 

The uncouth trophies of the hall. 

'Mid those the stranger fixed his eye 

Where that huge falchion hung on high. 

And thoughts on thoughts, a countless throng. 

Rushed, chasing countless thoughts along, T15 

Until, the giddy whirl to cure. 

He rose and sought the moonshine pure. 

(599. Gauntlet. A glove protected ou the back with metal, and formerly 
used in battle. — 704. Grisly visage. Frightful face. 



34 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto i. 

XXXV. 

The wild, rose, eglantine, and broom 
Wasted around their rich perfume ; 
The birch-trees wept in fragrant balm ; 720 

The aspens slept beneath the calm ; 
The silver light, with quivering glance, 
Played on the water's still expanse, — 
Wild were the heart whose passion's sway- 
Could rage beneath the sober ray ! 'i'L'o 
He felt its calm, that warrior guest. 
While thus he communed with his breast : — 
" Why is it, at each turn I trace 
Some memory of that exiled race ? 
Can I not mountain maiden spy, 730 
But she must bear the Douglas eye ? 
Can I not view a Highland brand. 
But it must match the Douglas hand ? 
Can I not frame a fevered dream. 
But still the Douglas is the theme? 735 
I'll dream no more, — by manly mind 
Not even in sleep is will resigned. 
My midnight orisons said o'er, 
I'll turn to rest, and dream no more." 
His midnight orisons he told, 74o 
A prayer with every bead of gold. 
Consigned to heaven his cares and woes. 
And sunk in undisturbed repose, 
Until the heath-cock shrilly crew. 
And morning dawned on BeuA^enue. 74r. 

732. Brand. S\yord.— 73S. Orisons. Prayers. 



OUTLINE OF CANTO SECOND. 



The stranger, who has announced himself as "the knight of 
Snowdoun, James Fitz-eFames," leaves the island in the early morn- 
ing. The old minstrel speeds him on his way with a song of 
farewell, and Ellen watches his departure with an interest for 
which she soon reproaclies herself, as implying disloyalty to her 
lover, j\Ialcolm Grfeme. She calls upon the old man to sing her 
Malcolm's praises; but Allan has not forgotten the fallen swoi'd 
of yesternight : it is to him an omen of evil. He attempts ii^ vain 
a joyous strain ; involuntarily he touches but chords of woeJkThe 
maiden tries to assuage his fears by a more cheerful view of their 
fortunes ; for she can hardly remember the proud days which he 
regrets. But Allan's discernment sees a new danger to her peace 
which she has not yet suspected : the rough chief whose hospitality 
now shelters them is hoping for his reward in his cousin's hand. 
Besides this, he suspects this stranger guest ; his coming can bring 
no good. Their conversation is interrupted by the sounds of 
music, and the proud pibroch, followed by a vigorous " Boat Song," 
introduces us to this rough cousin, Roderick the Black, on his 
return from a Lowland raid. His mother, with her maids, comes 
down to welcome him. Ellen, who, with her eyes opened, is un- 
willing to do aught that may seem to favor his suit, is reluctantly 
following, when she hears her father's bugle-horn, and darts aside 
to her skiff to convey him from the mainland. With him comes 
Malcolm Gramme, who has been his guide, and who is no welcome 
guest to Roderick, though he does not fail in hospitality. Roderick 
receives news of a suspicious gathering of the king's forces, and ot 
the discovery of Douglas's retreat. The latter proposes to with- 
draw, and so save his host from peril; but Roderick seizes the 



m OUTLINE OF CANTO SECOND. 

opportimit}' of making his proposal for his cousin's hand. With 
the Douglas by his side, he niay set the king at defiance. Douglas 
watches its effect upon his daughter, and, seeing that " her affec- 
tions do not that way tend," courteously declines the offer. Ellen, 
unable to bear the sight of her cousin's despair, rises to leave the 
room, and Malcolm has the bad taste to come forward, as of right, 
to be her escort. Roderick cannot brook this parade of successful 
rivalry, and a somewliat unseemly encounter follows, which ends 
in Malcolm swimming across to the mainland rather than be 
indebted to his rival. 

Some of the mystery of the previous canto is removed in this, 
and we learn in the most natural way the former grandeur of the 
Douglas family, and their present outlawry; the character of their 
protector, and his hopes of reward. Our interest in the fallen 
house is increased by the noble contentment with which they bear 
their change of fortune. Complaint comes from the minstrel, not 
from Ellen or her father. The latter finds greater happiness in 
his daughter's truth and affection than in his former pomp, and is 
jirepared rather to face fresh ills as an outcast than to raise his 
hand against the king, who has done him wrong, but whom still 
he loves. — Taylok. 



THE ISLAND. 



At morn the black-cock trims his jetty wing, 

'Tis morning prompts the linnet's blithest lay, 
All Natnre's children feel the matin spring 

Of life reviving, with reviving clay ; 
And while yon little bark glides down the bay, 5 

Wafting the stranger on his way again, 
Morn's genial influence roused a minstrel gray, 

And sweetly o'er the lake was heard thy strain, 
Mixed with the sounding harp, O white-haired 
Allan-bane ! 

II. 

" Not faster yonder rowers" might lO 

Flings from their oars the spray, 
Not faster yonder rippling bright, 
That tracks the shallop's course in light. 

Melts in the lake away, 
Than men from memory erase 15 

The benefits of former days ; 

2. Linnet. A small singino-bird.— Lay. Song. — 3. Matin [J/n<' in] . 
Morning. — 0. White-haired Allan-bane. To a late period Highland 
chieftains retained in their service the bard, as a family oflScer. 



38 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto ii. 

Then, stranger, go ! good speed the while. 
Nor think again of the k)nely isle. 

" High place to thee in royal court. 

High place in battled line, 20 

Good hawk and hound for sylvan sport ! 

Where beauty sees the brave resort. 
The honored meed be thine ! 

True be thy sword, thy friend sincere. 

Thy lady constant, kind, and dear, 25 

And lost in love's and friendship's smile 

Be memory of the lonely isle ! 

III. 

.^oiig Contimicb. 
" But if beneath yon southern sky 

A plaided stranger roam. 
Whose drooping crest and stifled sigh, 30 

And sunken cheek and heavy eye. 

Pine for his Highland home ; 
Then, warrior, then be thine to show 
The care that soothes a wanderer's woe ; 
Remember then thy hap erewhile, 35 

A stranger in the lonely isle. 

" Or if on life's uncertain main 

Mishap shall mar thy sail ; 
If faithful, wise, and brave in vain, 
Woe, want, and exile thou sustain 40 

Beneath the fickle gale ; 

17. Speed. Success.— 2;!. Meed. IJewanl.— 29. Plaided. See plaid, 
line .'5(J3, Canto I. — .'55. Hap. Lot or fortune. — ;!7. Main. Sea. 



CANTO II. 



THE ISLAND. 39 



Waste not a sigh on fortune changed. 
On thankless courts, or friends estranged, 
But come where kindred worth shall smile. 
To greet thee in the lonely isle." 45 

TV. 

As died the sounds upon the tide, 

The shallop reached the mainland side. 

And ere his onward Avay he took. 

The stranger cast a lingering look. 

Where easily his eye might reach 50 

The Harper on the islet beach, 

Reclined against a blighted tree, 

As wasted, gray, and worn as he. 

To minstrel meditation given, 

His reverend brow was raised to heaven, 55 

As from the rising sun to claim 

A sparkle of inspiring flame. 

His hand, reclined upon the wire. 

Seemed watching the awakening fire ; 

So still he sat as those who wait 60 

Till judgment speak the doom of fate ; 

So still, as if no breeze might dare 

To lift one lock of hoary hair ; 

So still, as life itself were fled 

In the last sound his harp had sped. (js 

V. 
Upon a rock with lichens wild, 
Beside him Ellen sat and smiled. — 

60. Lichens [Li'J,-<ns]. Patches of grayish plants, improperly called 
7nosses, growing on rocks and trees. 



40 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto ii. 

Smiled she to see the stately drake 

Lead forth his fleet upon the lake, 

While her vexed spaniel from the beach 70 

Bayed at the prize beyond his reach ? 

Yet tell me, then, the maid \vho knows. 

Why deepened on her cheek the rose ? — 

Forgive, forgive. Fidelity ! 

Perchance the maiden smiled to see 75 

Yon parting lingerer wave adieu. 

And stop and turn to wave anew ; 

And, lovely ladies, ere your ire 

Condemn the heroine of my lyre. 

Show me the fair would scorn to spy 80 

And prize such conquest of her eye ! 

VI. 

While yet he loitered on the spot. 

It seemed as Ellen marked him not ; 

But when he turned him to the glade. 

One courteous parting sign she made ; 85 

And after, oft the knight would say. 

That not when prize of festal day 

Was dealt him by the brightest fair 

Who e'er wore jewel in her hair. 

So highly did his bosom swell 90 

As at that simple mute farewell. 

Now with a trusty mountain-guide, 

And his dark stag-hounds by his side. 

He parts, — the maid, unconscious still. 

Watched him wind slowly round the hill : ;ir> 

(ill. Fleet. The duckti sailina; over the waters. 



CANTO II. THE ISLAND. -41 

But when liis stately form was hid, 

The guardian in her bosom chid, — 

•' Thy Malcolm ! vain and selfish maid ! " 

'Twas thus upbraiding conscience said, — 

"• Not so liad Malcolm idly hung i(X) 

On the smooth phrase of Southern tongue : 

Not so had Malcolm strained his eye 

Another step than thine to spy." — 

"• Wake, Allan-bane," aloud she cried 

To the old minstrel by her side, — io5 

" Arouse thee from thy moody dream ! 

I'll give thy harp heroic theme, 

And warm thee with a noble name ; 

Pour forth the glory of the Grseme ! " 

Scarce from her lip the word had rushed, no 

When deep the conscious maiden blushed ; 

For of his clan, in hall and bower, 

Young Malcolm Grseme was held the flower. 

109. Graeme. The ancient and powerful family of Graham (which, for 
metrical reasons, is here spelt after the Scottish pronunciation) held ex- 
tensive possessions in the counties of Dumharton and Stirling. Few 
families can boast of more historical renown, having claim to three of the 
most remarkable characters in the Scottish annals. Sir John the Graeme, 
tlie faithful and undaunted partaker of the labors and patriotic warfare of 
Wallace, fell in the unfortunate field of Falkirk, in 1298. The celebrated 
Marquis of Montrose, in whom De Retz saw realized his abstract idea of 
the heroes of antiquity, was the second of these worthies. And, notwith- 
standing the severity of his temper, and the rigor with which he executed 
the oppressive mandates of the princes whom he served, I do not hesitate 
to name as a third, John Graeme of Claverhouse, Viscount of Dundee, 
whose heroic death in the arms of victory may be allowed to cancel the 
memory of his cruelty to the Nonconformists, during the reigns of Charles 
II. and James II. Scott. 

112. Bower. Chamber or lady's parlor. "In hall or bower." In 
assemblies of men and women. — Clan. A number of families united under 
(me chieftain, having a common ancestor, and bearing the same surname. 



42 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto n. 

VII. 

The minstrel waked his harp, — three times 

Arose the well-known martial chimes, lis 

And thrice their high heroic pride 

In melancholy mnrmurs died. 

"Vainly thon bidst, O noble maid,'' 

Clasping his withered hands, he said, 

" Vainly thou bidst me wake the strain, 120 

Though all nnwont to bid in vain. 

Alas ! than mine a mightier hand 

Has tuned my harp, my strings has spanned ! 

I touch the chords of joy, but low 

And mournful answer notes of woe ; 125 

And the proud march which victors tread 

Sinks in the wailing for the dead. 

O, well for me, if mine alone 

That dirge's deep prophetic tone ! 

If, as my tuneful fathers said, 130 

This heart, which erst Saint Modan swayed, 

Can thus its master's fate foretell, 

Then welcome be the minstrel's knell ! 

vin. 

"But ah ! dear lady, thus it sighed, 

The eve thy sainted mother died ; 1^55 

r2L Unwont. Unaccustomed. — lol. Erst. Formerly. 

131. Saint Modan. I am not prepared to show that Saint Modan was 
a performer on the harp. It was, however, no uusaintly accomplishment; 
for Saint Duustau certainly did play upon that instrument, which retaining, 
as was natural, a portion of the sanctity attached to its master's character, 
announced future events by it; spontaneous sound. Scott. 

133. Knell. A death signal or note of evil omen. 



CANTO II. THE ISLAND. 43 

And such the sounds which, while I strove 

To wake a lay of war or love, 

Came marring all the festal mirth. 

Appalling me who gave them birth, 

And, disobedient to my call, * 140 

Wailed loud through Bothwell's bannered liall. 

Ere Douglases, to ruin driven. 

Were exiled from their native heaven. — 

O ! if yet worse mishap and woe 

My master's house must undergo, 145 

Or aught but weal to Ellen fair 

Brood in these accents of despair, 

No future bard, sad Harp ! shall Hing 

Triumph or rapture from thy string ; 

One short, one final strain shall How, 150 

Fraught with unutterable woe, 

Then shivered shall thy fragments lie. 

Thy master cast him down and die ! " 

141. Bothwell's bannered hall. Bothwell Castle, now in ruius, situ- 
ated near Glasgow ou the Clyde. 

142. Douglases. The Douglas family had been exceedingly powerful 
ever since the great wars with England, when James Douglas had been the 
chief friend of Bruce, the chamjjion of national independence. The Earls 
of Douglas and of Angus, with their many relatives, had since grown so 
powerful and unscrupulous as to be the teiTor of kings and people; so that 
it was said that no justice could be obtained against a Douglas or a Doug- 
las's man. Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, had married Margaret 
Tudor, the mother of James V., and the young king, in his boyhood, had 
been held in such subjection that when at last he made his escape from 
the numerous Douglases who guarded and watched him, he hated the very 
name of the family, and banished every one of them, including a brave old 
man, Douglas of Kilsjundie, who had been a great favorite with him in his 
childhood, and from whom the character of the Douglas of the poem is 
taken. Yonge. 

151. Fraught. Filled. 



44 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto ii. 

IX. 

Sootliing she answered him : " Assuage, 

Mine honored friend, the fears of age ; 156 

All melodies to thee are known 

That harp has rung or pipe has blown, 

In Lowland vale or Highland glen, 

From Tweed to Spey — what marvel, then, 

At times unbidden notes should rise, 160 

Confusedly bound in memory's ties, 

Entangling, as they rush along. 

The war-march with the funeral song ? — 

Small ground is now for boding fear ; 

Obscure, but safe, we rest us here. 165 

My sire, in native virtue great. 

Resigning lordship, lands, and state. 

Not then to fortune more resigned 

Than yonder oak might give the wind ; 

The graceful foliage storms may reave, 170 

The noble stem they cannot grieve. 

For me " — she stooped, and, looking round. 

Plucked a blue harebell from the ground, — 

" For me, whose memory scarce conveys 

An image of more splendid days, 175 

This little flower that loves the lea 

May well my simple emblem be ; 

It drinks heaven's dew as blithe as rose 

That in the King's own garden grows ; 

154. Assuage. Soothe or abate. — 159. Tweed and Spey. Throughout 
the whole country, the Tweed being the southern boundary and the Spey 
in the far north. — 1G4. Boding. Foretelling. — 170. Keave. To tear from 
or sweep away. — 173. Harebell. A plant which boars blue, bell-.sh.aped 
llowers; called also the bluebell of Scotland. 

17<i. Lea. Meadow, pasture -177. Emblem. Symbol or type. 



CANTO II. 



THE ISLAND. 45 



And when I place it in my hair, 180 

Allan, a bard is bound to swear 

He ne'er saw coronet so fair." 

Then playfully the chaplet wild 

She wreathed in her dark locks, and smiled. 

X. 

Her smile, her speech, with winning sway, 185 

Wiled the old Harper's mood away. 

With such a look as hermits throw. 

When angels stoop to soothe their woe, 

He gazed, till fond regret and j)ride 

Thrilled to a tear, then thus replied : liX) 

'■'■ Loveliest and best ! thou little know'st 

The rank, the honors, thou hast lost ! 

O, might I live to see thee grace, 

In Scotland's court, thy birthright place, 

To see my favorite's step advance I'.'s 

The lightest in the courtly dance, 

The cause of every gallant's sigh. 

And leading star of every eye. 

And theme of every minstrel's art, 

The Lady of the Bleeding Heart! " 2(K) 

XI. 

" Fair dreams are these," the maiden cried, - — 
Light was her accent, yet she sighed, — 

182. Coronet. The small crown or circlet worn by peers and peeresses. 

186. Wiled. Beguiled. — 200. The Bleeding Heart. The shield of the 
Douglas family bore a red heart crowned, in remembrance of the charge 
given on his death-bed by Robert Bruce to James Douglas to bear his heart 
to Jerusalem. 



46 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto ii. 

" Yet is this mossy rock to me 

Worth splendid chair and canopy ; 

Nor would my footstep spring more gay 20.5 

In courtly dance than blithe strathspey, 

Nor half so pleased mine ear incline 

To royal minstrel's lay as thine. 

And then for suitors proud and high, 

To bend before ray conquering eye, — 210 

Thou, flattering bard ! thyself wilt say, 

That grim Sir Roderick owns its sway. 

The Saxon scourge, Clan-Alpine's pride. 

The terror of Loch Lomond's side. 

Would, at my suit, thou know'st, delay 215 

A Lennox foray — for a day." — 

XII. 

The ancient bard her glee rei:)ressed : 

" 111 hast thou chosen theme for jest ! 

For who, through all this western wild, 

Named Black Sir Roderick e'er, and smiled? 220 

In Holy-Rood a knight he slew ; 

I saw, when back the dirk he drew, 

206. strathspey. A lively Scottish dauce. 

213. Alpine. An ancient king from whom several clans claimed descent. 

214. Loch Lomond. One of the largest and most beautiful of Scottish 
lakes, near Loch Katrine. 

210. Lennox foray. The raid of a body of armed men, for the sake of 
plunder, into the territory of the Lennox family, which lay around the 
south end of Loch Lomond. 

220. Black Sir Eoderick. See note, 1. 408. 

221. Holy-Rood. A castle in Edinburgli, the residence of the royal 
family of Scotland. —In Holy-Eood a knight he slew. This was by no 

• means an uncommon occurrence in the Court of Scotland; nay, the 
presence of the sovereign liimself scarcely restrained tlie ferocious and 
inveterate feuds which were the perpetual source of bloodshed among the 
Scottish nobility. Scott. 



CANTO 11. 



THE ISLAND. 47 



Courtiers give place before the stride 

Of the undaunted homicide ; 

And since, though outhiwed, hath his hand 225 

Full sternly kept his mountain land. 

Who else dared give — ah ! woe the day, 

That I such hated truth should say ! — 

The Douglas, like a stricken deer. 

Disowned by every noble peer, 230 

Even the rude refuge we have here ? 

Alas, this wild marauding Chief 

Alone might hazard our relief, 

And now thy maiden charms expand, 

Looks for his guerdon in thy hand ; 235 

Full soon may dispensation sought. 

To back his suit, from Rome be brought. 

224. Undaunted. Bold, fearless. — Homicide. A person who kills 
another. — 225. Outlawed. Deprived of the protection of the law. 

230. Disowned by every noble peer. The exiled state of this powerful 
race is not exaggerated in this and subsequent passages. The hatred of 
.Tames against the race of Douglas was so inveterate, that, numerous as 
their allies were, and disregarded as the regal authority had usually been 
in similar cases, their nearest friends, even in the most remote parts of 
Scotland, durst not entertain them, unless under the strictest and closest 
disguise. James Douglas, son of the banished Earl of Angus, afterwards 
well known by the title of Earl of Morton, lurked, during the exile of his 
family, in the north of Scotland, under the assumed name of James Innes, 
otherwise James the Grieve {i.e., Reve or Bailiff). "And as he bore the 
name," says Godscroft, "so did he also execute the office of a grieve or 
overseer of the lands and rents, the corn and cattle of him with whom he 
lived." From the habits of frugality and observation which he acquired 
in his humble situation, the historian traces that intimate acquaintance 
with popular character, which enabled him to rise so high in the state, and 
that honorable economy by which he repaired and established the shattered 
estates of Angus and Morton. Scott. — 232. Marauding. Plundering. 

233. Hazard our relief. Run the risk of helping Ellen and her father. 

235. Guerdon. Reward. 

230. Dispensation. The granting of a license by the Pope ; in this 
case permission for Roderick to marry liis cousin Ellen. 



48 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. oanto ii. 

Then, though an exile on the hill, 

Thy father, as the Douglas, still 

Be held in reverence and fear ; 240 

And though to Roderick thou'rt so dear 

That thou niightst guide with silken thread, 

Slave of thy will, this chieftain dread, 

Yet, O loved maid, thy mirth refrain I 

Thy hand is on a lion's mane." — 245 

XIII. 

"Minstrel," the maid replied, and higli 

Her father's soul glanced from her eye, 

"My debts to Roderick's house I know: 

All that a mother could bestow 

To Lady Margaret's care I owe, 250 

Since first an orphan in the wild 

She sorrowed o'er her sister's child ; 

To her brave chieftain son, from ire 

Of Scotland's king who shrouds my sire, 

A deeper, holier debt is owed ; -'55 

And, could I pay it with my blood, 

Allan ! Sir Roderick should command 

My blood, my life, — but not my hand. 

Rather will Ellen Douglas dwell 

A votaress in Maronnan's cell ; 2()0 

Rather through realms beyond the sea, 

Seeking the world's cold charity, 

254. Shrouds. Protects. 

260. Votaress. A woman devoted to any particular service or worship. 
— Maronnan. Tlie parisli of Kilmaronock, at the eastern extremity of 
Loch Lomond, derives its name from a cell or chapel, dedicated to Saint 
Maronnan. Scott. 



CANTO II. THE ISLAND. 49 

Where ne'er was spoke a Scottish word, 

And ne'er the name of Douglas heard. 

An outcast pilgrim will she rove, 265 

Than wed the man she cannot love. 

XIV. 

" Thou shak'st, good friend, thy tresses gray, — 

That pleading look, what can it say 

But what I own ? — I grant him brave. 

But wild as Bracklinn's thundering wave ; 270 

And generous, — save vindictive mood 

Or jealous transport chafe his blood : 

I grant him true to friendly band, 

As his claymore is to his hand; 

But O ! that very blade of steel 275 

More mercy for a foe would feel : 

I grant him liberal, to fling 

Among his clan the wealth they bring, 

When back by lake and glen they wind, 

And in the Lowland leave behind, 280 

Where once some pleasant hamlet stood, 

A mass of ashes slaked with blood. 

The hand that for my father fought 

I honor, as his daughter ought ; 

But can I clasp it reeking red 2m 

From peasants slaughtered in their shed ? 

No ! wildly while his virtues gleam, 

They make his passions darker seem, 

270. Bracklinn. This is a beautiful cascade made by a mountain 
stream called the Keltic, at a ijlace called the Bridge of Bracklinn, about a 
mile from the village of Callander. Scott. — 274. Claymore. A large 
sword formerly used by the Highlanders. — 282. Slaked. Drenched. 

285. Heeking red. Steaming with fresh blood. 



50 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto n. 

And flash along his spirit high, 

Like lightning o'er the midnight sky. 2W 

While 3^et a child, — and children knoAv, 

Instinctive taught, the friend and foe, — 

1 shuddered at his brow of gloom, 

His shadowy plaid and sable plume ; 

A maiden grown, I ill could bear •2'^r, 

His haughty mien and lordly air : 

But, if thou join'st a suitor's claim, 

In serious mood, to Roderick's name, 

I thrill with anguish ! or, if e'er 

A Douglas knew the word, with fear. 3oo 

To change such odious theme were best, — 

What think'st thou of our stranger guest ? "' — 

XV. 

" What think I of liim ? — woe the while 

That brought such wanderer to our isle ! 

Thy father's battle-brand, of yore ^'> 

For Tine-man forged by fairy lore, 

What time he leagued, no longer foes, 

His Border spears with Hotspur's bows. 

Did, self-unscabbarded, foreshow 

The footstep of a secret foe. sio 

If courtly spy hath harljored here, 

What may we for the Douglas fear ? 

294. Sable. Black. — 2fl7. Suitor. Lover. — 305. Yore. Old time. 

.'lOri. Tine-man. Archibald, the third Earl of Douglas, was so unfor- 
tunate in all his enterprises, that lie acquired the epithet of Tine-man, 
because he iined, or lost, his followers in every battle which he fought. 
Scott. — .307. Leagued. United for mutual support. 

;i08. His Border spears with Hotspur's bows. The reference is to the 
alliance of Douglas with liis Scottish spearmen, and the English under 
Percy, or Hotspur, armed with the cross-bow. 



CANTO II. 



THE ISLAND. 51 



What for this island, deemed of old 

Clan-Alpine's last and surest hold ? 

If neither spy nor foe, I pray 315 

What yet may jealous Roderick say? — 

Nay, wave not thy disdainful head ! 

Bethink thee of the discord dread 

That kindled when at Beltane game 

Thou ledst the dance with Malcolm Graeme ; "'so 

Still, though thy sire the peace renewed, 

Smoulders in Roderick's breast the feud : 

Beware ! — But hark ! what sounds are these ? 

My dull ears catch no faltering breeze. 

No weeping birch nor aspens wake, 32". 

Nor breath is dimpling in the lake ; 

Still is the canna's hoary beard. 

Yet, by my minstrel faith, I lieard — 

And hark again I some pipe of war 

Sends the bold pibroch from afar." 330 



XVI. 

Far up the lengthened lake were spied 

Four darkening specks upon the tide. 

That, sloAv enlarging on the view. 

Four manned and masted barges grew. 

And, bearing downwards from Glengyle, 3a-) 

Steered full upon the lonely isle ; 

The point of Brianchoil they passed, 

And, to the windward as they cast, 

319. Beltane game. A May-day festival in honor of Beal, the Sun, 
celebrated by kindling fires on the hill-tops and other ceremonies. 
325. Cf. I. 3G3.— 327. Canna. Cotton-grass. 



52 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto ii. 

Against the sun they gave to shine 

The bold Sir Roderick's bannered Pine. mo 

Nearer and nearer as they bear, 

Spears, pikes, and axes flash in air. 

Now might you see the tartans brave. 

And plaids and plumage dance and wave: 

Now see the bonnets sink and rise, 34") 

As his tough oar the rower plies ; 

See, flashing at each sturdy stroke, 

The wave ascending into smoke ; 

See the proud pipers on the bow. 

And mark the gaudy streamers flow 330 

From their loud chanters down, and sweep 

The furrowed bosom of the deep, 

As, rushing through the lake amain. 

They plied the ancient Highland strain. 

XVII. 

Ever, as on they bore, more loud 355 

And louder rung the pibroch proud. 

At first the sounds, by distance tame, 

Mellowed along the waters came, 

And, lingering long by cape and bay. 

Wailed every harsher note away, Sfio 

Then bursting bolder on the ear. 

The clan's shrill Gathering they could hear. 

Those thrilling sounds that call the might 

Of old Clan-Alpine to the fight. 

340. Bannered Pine. The pine was the badge of Clan-Alpine. 
343. Tartans brave. Showy plaids. 

345. Bonnets. The ordinary Scotch cap worn by men is called a bonnet 
in Scotland. — ;!.")! . Chanter. Tube of the bagpipe. 

363. Thrilling sounds, etc. The connoisseurs in pipe-music affect to 



CANTO II. 



THE ISLAND. 53 



Thick beat the rapid notes, as when 365 

The mustering hundreds shake the glen, 

And hurrying at the signal dread, 

The battered earth returns their tread. 

Then prelude light, of livelier tone. 

Expressed their merry marching on, 370 

Ere peal of closing battle rose, 

With mingled outcry, shrieks, and blows ; 

And mimic din of stroke and ward. 

As broadsword upon target jarred ; 

And groaning pause, ere yet again, sir^ 

Condensed, the battle yelled amain : 

The rapid charge, the rallying shout, 

Retreat borne headlong into rout. 

And bursts of triumph, to declare 

Clan-Alpine's conquest — all were there. 380 

Nor ended thus the strain, but slow 

Sunk in a moan prolonged and low, 

And changed the conquering clarion swell 

For wild lament o'er those that fell. 

XVIII. 

The war-pipes ceased, but lake and hill 385 

Were busy with their echoes still ; 

And, when they slept, a vocal strain 

Bade their hoarse chorus wake again. 

While loud a hundred clansmen I'aise 

Their voices in their Chieftain's praise. SiW 

discover, in a well-composed pibroch, the imitative sounds of march, con- 
flict, flight, pursuit, and all the " current of a heady fight." Scott. 

369. Prelude. Introductory musical performance. 

373. Ward. Parry or defense. 

383. Clarion. A kind of trumpet whose note is clear and shrill. 



54 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto ii. 

Each boatman, bending to his oar, 

With measured sweep the burden bore. 

In such wild cadence as the breeze 

Makes through December's leafless trees. 

The chorus first could Allan know, 395 

" Roderick Vich Alpine, ho ! iro ! " 

And near, and nearer as they rowed, 

Distinct the martial ditty flowed. 

XIX. 

^oat Song. 
Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances ! 

Honored and blest be the ever-green Pine ! 400 
Long may the tree, in his banner that glances. 
Flourish, the shelter and grace of our line ! 
Heaveil send it happy dew, 
Earth lend it sap anew, 
Gayly to bourgeon and broadly to grow, 405 

While every Highland glen 
Sends our shout back again, 
" Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho ! ieroe ! " 

r>02. Burden. Chorus. — 303. Cadence. A regular fall or modulation 
of .sound. — 405. Bourgeon [JJur'Jini] . To bud or sprout. 

40S. Eoderigh Vich Alpine. Besides his ordinary name and surname, 
whicli were chiefly used in the intercourse with the Lowlands, every High- 
land chief had an epithet expressive of his patriarchal dignity as head of 
the clan, and which was common to all his predecessors and successors, as 
Pharaoh to the kings of Egypt, or Arsaces to those of Parthia. This name 
was usually a patronymic, expressive of liis descent from the founder of 
the family. Besides this title, which belonged to his office and dignity, the 
chieftain had usually another peculiar to himself, which distinguished him 
from the chieftains of the same race. This was sometimes derived from 
complexion, as dhu or roij ; sometimes from size, as ber/ or more ; at other 
times, from some peculiar exploit, or from some peculiarity of habit or 
appearance. The line of the text therefore signifies Black Roderick, the 
descendant of Alpine. Scott. 



CANTO II. THE ISLAND. 55 

Ours is no sapling, chance-sown by the fountain, 

Blooming at Beltane, in winter to fade ; 4io 

When the whirlwind has stripped every leaf on the 
mountain, 
The more shall Clan Alpine exult in her shade. 
Moored in the rifted rock. 
Proof to the tempest's shock. 
Firmer he roots him the ruder it blow ; 415 

Menteith and Breadalbane, then, 
Echo his praise again, 
" Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho ! ieroe I " 

XX. 

Proudly our pibroch has thrilled in Glen Fruin, 

And Bannochar's groans to our slogan replied ; 420 
Glen Luss and Hoss-dhu, they are smoking in ruin. 
And the best of Loch Lomond lie dead on her side. 

Widow and Saxon maid 

Long shall lament our raid, 
Think of Clan-Alpine with fear and with woe : 425 

Lennox and Leven-glen 

Shake when they hear again, 
" Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho ! ieroe ! " 

413. Rifted. Split. 

41(i. Menteith and Breadalbane. Districts north of Loch Lomond. 

419-21. Glen Fruin, Bannochar, Glen Luss, Ross-dhu, Leven-glen. 

Valleys on the borders of Loch Lomond. 

420. Slogan. Highland war-cry. 

422. And the best of Loch Lomond, etc. The Lennox, as the district 
is called, which encircles the lower extremity of Loch Lomond, was 
peculiarly exposed to the incursions of the mountaineers, who inhabited 
the inaccessible fastnesses at the upper end of the lake, and the neighboring 
district of Loch Katrine. These were often marked by circumstances of 
great ferocity. Scott. 



56 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto ii. 

Row, vassals, row, for the pride of the Highlands ! 

Stretch to your oars for the ever-green Pine ! 430 

O that the rosebud that graces yon islands 

Were wreathed in a garland around him to twine ! 

that some seedling gem, 
Worthy such noble stem, 

Honored and blessed in their shadow might grow ! 435 

Loud should Clan-Alpine then 

Ring from her deepmost glen, 
" Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho ! ieroe ! " 

XXI. 

With all her joyful female band 

Had Lady Margaret sought the strand: 440 

Loose on the breeze their tresses flew, 

And high their snoAvy arms they threw. 

As echoing back with shrill acclaim, 

And chorus wild, the Chieftain's name , 

While, prompt to please, with mother's art, 445 

The darling passion of his heart, 

The dame called Ellen to the strand, 

To greet her kinsman ere he land : 

'•' Come, loiterer, come ! a Douglas thou, 

And shun to wreathe a victor's brow?" 45u 

Reluctantly and slow, tlie maid 

The unwelcome summoning obeyed, 

And when a distant bugle rung. 

In the mid-path aside she sprung : — 

" List, Allan-bane ! From mainland cast 455 

1 hear my father's signal blast. 

Be ours," she cried, " the skiff to guide. 
And waft him from the mountain-side." 



CANTO II. 



THE ISLAND. 57 



Then, like a sunbeam, swift and bright, 

She darted to her shallop light, 4go 

And, eagerly while Roderick scanned, 

For her dear form, his mother's band. 

The islet far behind her lay. 

And she had landed in the bay. 

xxn. 

Some feelings are to mortals given 465 

With less of earth in them than heaven : 

And if there be a human tear 

From passion's dross refined and clear, 

A tear so limpid and so meek 

It would not stain an angel's cheek, 470 

'Tis that Avhich pious fathers shed 

Upon a duteous daughter's head ! 

And as the Douglas to his breast 

His darling Ellen closely pressed, 

Such holy drops her tresses steeped, 475 

Though 'twas an hero's eye that Aveeped. 

Nor while on Ellen's faltering tongue 

Her filial welcomes crowded hung. 

Marked she that fear — affection's proof — 

Still held a graceful youth aloof : 4so 

No ! not till Douglas named his name. 

Although the youth was Malcolm Grseme. 

XXIII. 
Allan, with wistful look the while. 
Marked Roderick landing on the isle ; 

469. Limpid. Clear, transparent. 



58 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto ii. 

His master piteously he eyed, 485 

Then gazed upon the Chieftain's pride. 

Then dashed with hasty hand away 

From his dimmed eye the gathering spray : 

And Douglas, as his hand he laid 

On Malcolm's shoulder, kindly said : 4!to 

"' Canst thou, young friend, no meaning spy 

In my poor follower's glistening eye ? 

I'll tell thee : — he recalls the day 

When in my praise he led the lay 

O'er the arched gate of Both well proud, 4t'o 

While many a minstrel answered loud, 

When Percy's Norman pennon, won 

In bloody field, before me shone. 

And twice ten knights, the least a name 

As mighty as yon Chief may claim, soo 

Gracing my pomp, behind me came. 

Yet trust me, Malcolm, not so proud 

Was I of all that marshalled crowd. 

Though the waned crescent owned my might. 

And in my train trooped lord and knight. 5o:> 

Though Blantyre hymned her holiest lays. 

And Bothwell's bards flung back my praise, 

As when this old man's silent tear. 

And this poor maid's affection dear, 

A welcome give more kind and true 5io 

Than aught my better fortunes knew. 

4!)7. Percy's Norman pennon was captnrod by the Douglas. 

501. Pomp. Parade. — 504. Waned crescent. Sir Walter Scott of 
lUiccleuch, whose shield bore a crescent moon, had endeavored to set the 
king free from the Douglases, but had been defeated by them. His failure 
is lience called the waning of the crescent. Yonge. 

50(j. Blantyre. An old priory or abbey opposite Bothwell Castle. 



CANTO II. 



THE ISLAND. 59 



Forgive, my friend, a father's boast, — 
O, it out-beggars all I lost ! " 

XXIV. 

Delightful praise ! — like summer rose, 

That brighter in the dew-drop glows, 515 

The bashful maiden's cheek appeared. 

For Douglas spoke, and Malcolm heard. 

The flush of shame-faced joy to hide, 

The hounds, the hawk, her cares divide ; 

The loved caresses of the maid 520 

The dogs with crouch and whimper paid ; 

And, at her whistle, on her hand 

The falcon took his favorite stand, 

Closed his dark wing, relaxed his eye. 

Nor, though unhooded, sought to fly. 525 

And, trust, while in such guise she stood, 

Like fabled Goddess of the wood, 

That if a father's partial thought 

O'erweighed her worth and beauty aught. 

Well might the lover's judgment fail 53o 

To balance with a juster scale : 

For with each secret glance he stole. 

The fond enthusiast sent his soul. 

XXY. 

Of stature fair, and slender frame, 

But firmly knit, was Malcolm Grseme. 535 

525. Unhooded. It was very unusual for the falcon to rest quietly 
unhooded. He was kept with his head covered, and when the hood was 
removed he took flight at once in search of prey. — 526. Guise. Dress, garb. 

527. Fabled Goddess. Goddess of the wood, Diana. 

529. Aught. In any respect. 



60 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto ii. 

The belted plaid and tartan hose 

Did ne'er more graceful limbs disclose ; 

His flaxen hair, of sunny hue, 

Curled closel}^ round his bonnet blue. 

Trained to the chase, his eagle eye mh 

The ptarmigan in snow could spy ; 

Each pass, by mountain, lake, and heath. 

He knew, through Lennox and Menteith ; 

Vain was the bound of dark-brown doe 

When Malcolm bent his sounding bow, 545 

And scarce that doe, though winged with fear, 

Outstripped in speed the mountaineer : 

Right up Ben Lomond could he press. 

And not a sob his toil confess. 

His form accorded with a mind 550 

Lively and ardent, frank and kind ; 

A blither heart, till Ellen came, 

Did never love nor sorrow tame ; 

It danced as lightsome in his breast 

As played the feather on his crest. 555 

Yet friends, who nearest knew the youth. 

His scorn of wrong, his zeal for truth, 

And bards, who saw his features bold 

When kindled by the tales of old. 

Said, were that youth to manhood grown, niio 

Not long should Roderick Dhu's renown 

Be foremost voiced by mountain fame, 

But quail to that of Malcolm Greeme. 

563. Quail. Cower. 



THE ISLAND. 61 



XXVI. 



Now back they wend their watery way, 

And, " O my sire ! " did Ellen say, 565 

'" Wh}^ urge thy chase so far astray ? 

And why so late returned? And why " — 

The rest was in her speaking eye. 

"My child, the chase I follow far, 

'Tis mimicry of noble war ; 570 

And with that gallant pastime reft 

Were all of Douglas I have left. 

I met young Malcolm as I strayed 

Far eastward, in Glenfinlas' shade ; 

Nor strayed I safe, for all around 575 

Hunters and horsemen scoured the ground. 

This youth, though still a royal ward, 

Risked life and land to be my guard, 

And through the passes of the wood 

Guided my steps, not unpursued ; 580 

And Roderick shall his welcome make. 

Despite old spleen, for Douglas' sake. 

Then must he seek Strath-Endrick glen, 

Nor peril aught for me again." 

XXVII. 

Sir Roderick, who to meet them came, 585 

Reddened at sight of Malcolm Grseme, 

570. Mimicry. Imitation. — 571. Reft. Taken away. 

574. Glenfinlas. A wooded valley. 

577. Royal ward. Under the protection of the king. 

582. Despite old spleen. Notwithstanding old quarrels. 

583. Strath-Endrick glen. A valley drained by Strath-Endrick into 
Loch Lomond. 



62 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. camu ii. 

Yet, not in action, word, or eye. 

Failed aught in hosj)itality. 

In talk and sport they whiled away 

The morning of that summer day ; 59<t 

But at high noon a courier light 

Held secret parley with the knight. 

Whose moody aspect soon declared 

That evil were the news he heard. 

Deep thought seemed toiling in his head : 595 

Yet was the evening banquet made 

Ere he assembled round the flame 

His mother, Douglas, and the Graeme, 

And Ellen too ; then cast around 

His eyes, then fixed them on the ground, boo 

As studying phrase that might avail 

Best to convey unpleasant tale. 

Long with his dagger's hilt he played, 

Then raised his haughty brow, and said : — 

XXVIIl. 

" Short be my speech : — nor time affords, 605 

Nor my plain temper, glozing words. 

Kinsman and father, — if such name 

Douglas vouchsafe to Roderick's claim ; 

Mine honored mother ; — Ellen, — why, 

My cousin, turn away thine eye ? — «io 

And Graeme, in whom I hope to know 

Full soon a noble friend or foe. 

When age shall give thee thy command. 

And leading in thy native land, — 

591. Courier. Messenger seut with haste. —592. Farley. Conference. 
606. Glozing. Fair, smooth, or thitteriug. 



CANTO II. THE ISLAND. 63 

List all I — The King's vindictive pride «i5 

Boasts to have tamed the Border-side, 
Where chiefs, with hound and hawk who came 
To share their monarch's sylvan game. 
Themselves in bloody toils were snared, 
> And when the banquet they prepared, fi20 

And wide their loyal portals flung. 
O'er their own gateway struggling hung. 
Loud cries their blood from Meggat's mead. 
From Yarrow braes and banks of Tweed, 
Where the lone streams of Ettrick glide, 625 

And from the silver Teviot's side ; 
The dales, where martial clans did ride, 
Are now one sheep-walk, waste and wide. 
This tyrant of the Scottish throne, 
So faithless and so ruthless known, 630 

Now hither comes ; his end the same. 
The same pretext of sylvan game. 
What grace for Highland Chiefs, judge ye 
By fate of Border chivalry. 

Yet more ; amid Glenfinlas' green, 635 

Douglas, thy stately form was seen. 
This by espial sure I know : 
Your counsel in the streight I show." 

(316. Tamed the Border-side. James V. strove to put down the law- 
lessness of the Border chiefs, who were almost licensed robbers. He 
made a progress, dealing stern justice, and taking several by surprise, lu 
especial one Johnnie Armstrouy who came out to welcome him, but was 
seized and put to death. Yonge. — ()'21. Portals. Doors or gates. 

023. Meggat, Yarrow, Ettrick, and Teviot. Streams liowing into the 
Tweed. — G24. Braes. Shelving or hilly ground. 

630. Ruthless. Pitiless. 

0.32. Pretext. A false motive given for the real one. —037. Espial. Ob- 
servation. —0.38. Streight or strait. Difficulty or emergency. 



64 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto ii. 

XXIX. 

Ellen and Margaret fearfully 

Sought comfort in each other's eye, fi4o 

Then turned their ghastly look, each one, 

This to her sire, that to her son. 

The hasty color went and came 

In the bold cheek of Malcolm Graeme, 

But from his glance it well appeared (545 

'Twas but for Ellen that he feared ; 

While, sorrowful, but undismayed. 

The Douglas thus his counsel ,said : 

"■ Brave Roderick, though the tempest roar, 

It may but thunder and pass o'er ; 650 

Nor will I here remain an hour. 

To draw the lightning on thy bower ; 

For well thou know'st, at this gray head 

The royal bolt were fiercest sped. 

For thee, who, at thy King's command, 655 

Canst aid him with a gallant band, 

Submission, homage, humbled pride. 

Shall turn the Monarch's wrath aside. 

Poor remnants of the Bleeding Heart, 

Ellen and I will seek apart 660 

The refuge of some forest cell. 

There, like the hunted quarry, dwell, 

Till on the mountain and the moor 

The stern pursuit be passed and o'er." — 

XXX. 

" No, by mine honor," Roderick said, 665 

" So help me Heaven, and my good blade ! 
No, never I Blasted be yon Pine, 



CANTO II. 



THE ISLAND. 65 



My father's ancient crest and mine, 

If from its shade in danger part 

The lineage of the Bleeding Heart ! h70 

Hear my blunt speech : grant me this maid 

To wife, thy counsel to mine aid ; 

To Douglas, leagued with Roderick Dhu, 

Will friends and allies flock enow ; 

Like cause of doubt, distrust, and grief, 675 

Will bind to us each Western Chief. 

When the loud pipes my bridal tell. 

The Links of Forth shall hear the knell, 

The guards shall start in Stirling's porch ; 

And when I light the nuptial torch, 680 

A thousand villages in flames 

Shall scare the slumbers of King James ! — 

Nay, Ellen, blench not thus away. 

And, mother, cease these signs, I pray ; 

I meant not all my heat might say. — 685 

Small need of inroad or of fight, 

When the sage Douglas may unite 

Each mountain clan in friendly band. 

To guard the passes of their land, 

Till the foiled King from pathless glen C90 

Shall bootless turn him home again." 

670 Lineage of the Bleeding Heart. Descendants of the Douglas 
family. Cf. note, line 200. 

C7'4 Allies. States or i^eople united for a common ohject; associates, 
confederates. — Enow. Enough. 

678. Links of Forth. Windings of the River Forth. 

670. Stirling's porch. Stirling Castle was long the residence of the 
Scottish kings. 

680. Nuptial torch. Marriage torch.— (js;;. Blench. To draw hack or 
shrink from. 

600. Foiled. Defeated. —691. Bootless. Unsuccessful. 



66 THP: lady of the lake. canto n. 

XXXI. 

There are who liave, at midnight hour, 

In slumber scaled a dizzy tower, 

And, on the verge that beetled o'er 

The ocean tide's incessant roar, cm 

Dreamed calmly out their dangerous dream. 

Till wakened by the morning beam ; 

When, dazzled by the eastern glow. 

Such startler cast his glance below, 

And saw unmeasured depth around, too 

And heard unintermitted sound. 

And thought the battled fence so frail, 

It waved like cobweb in the gale ; — 

Amid his senses' giddy wheel, 

Did he not desperate impulse feel, 705 

Headlong to plunge himself below, 

And meet the worst his fears foreshow ? — 

Thus Ellen, dizzy and astound. 

As sudden ruin yawned around. 

By crossing terrors wildly tossed, 7io 

Still for the Douglas fearing most. 

Could scarce the desperate thought withstand. 

To buy his safety with her hand. 

XXXII. 

Such purpose dread could Malcolm spy 

In Ellen's quivering lip and eye, Tin 

693. Scaled. Clambered up. — 694. Verge. Brink, edge. — Beetled. 
Hung, extended. 

695. Incessant. Unceasing, continual. 

702. Battled fence. A defensive wall with opening.s from which to 
discharge missiles. —708. Astound. Astounded. 



CANTO II. THE ISLAND. 67 

And eager rose to speak, — but ere 

His tongue could hurry forth his fear, 

Had Douglas marked the hectic strife, 

Where death seemed combating with life ; 

For to her cheek, in feverish flood, 720 

One instant rushed the throbbing blood. 

Then ebbing back, with sudden sway. 

Left its domain as wan as clay. 

" Roderick, enough ! enough ! " he cried, 

" My daughter cannot be thy bride ; 72n 

Not that the blush to wooer dear, 

Nor paleness that of maiden fear. 

It may not be, — forgive her. Chief, 

Nor hazard aught for our relief. 

Against his sovereign, Douglas ne'er 7.30 

Will level a rebellious spear. 

'Twas I that taught his youthful hand 

To rein a steed and wield a brand ; 

I see him yet, the princely boy ! 

Not Ellen more my pride and joy ; 735 

I love him still, despite my wrongs 

By hasty wrath and slanderous tongues. 

O, seek the grace you well may find. 

Without a cause to mine combined ! " 

XXXIII. 

Twice through the hall the Chieftain strode ; ~io 
The Avaving of his tartans broad. 
And darkened brow, where wounded pride 
With ire and disappointment vied, 

719. Com'bating. Struggling, contending. —723. Domain. Her cheek. 
— Wan. Pale, colorless. —743. Vied. Contended. 



68 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto ii. 

Seemed, by the torch's gloomy light, 

Like the ill Demon of the night, 745 

Stooping his pinions' shadowy sway 

Upon the nighted pilgrim's way: 

But, unrequited Love ! thy dart 

Plunged deepest its envenomed smart. 

And Roderick, with thine anguish stung, 750 

At length the hand of Douglas wrung. 

While eyes that mocked at tears before 

With bitter drops were running o'er. 

The death-pangs of long-cherished hope 

Scarce in that ample breast had scope, 755 

But, struggling with his spirit proud. 

Convulsive heaved its checkered shroud, 

While every sob — so mute were all — 

Was heard distinctly through the hall. 

The son's despair, tlie mother's look, tho 

111 might the gentle Ellen brook ; 

She rose, and to her side there came, 

To aid her parting steps, the Graeme. 

XXXIV. 

Then Roderick from the Douglas broke — 

As flashes flame through sable smoke, 7(ir. 

Kindling its wreaths, long, dark, and low, 

To one broad blaze of ruddy glow. 

So the deep anguisli of despair 

Burst, in fierce jealousy, to air. 

With stalwart grasp his hand he laid 770 

On Malcolm's breast and belted plaid : 

747. Nighted. l^.eiiighted. — 740. Envenomed. Poisoned. 
757. Checkered shroud. Tartan plaid. —7G1. Brook. Endure. 



I'- THE ISLAND. 69 

" Back, beardless bo}^ ! " he sternly said, 

" Back, minion ! lioldst thou thus at naught 

The lesson I so lately taught ? 

This roof, the Douglas, and that maid, 775 

Thank thou for punishment delayed." 

Eager as greyhound on his game. 

Fiercely with Roderick grappled Grreme. 

" Perish my name, if aught afford 

Its Chieftain safety save his sword ! "' 78O 

Thus as they strove their desperate liand 

Griped to the dagger or the brand, 

And death had been — but Douglas rose. 

And thrust between the struggling foes 

His giant strength : — " Chieftains, forego ! 785 

I hold the first who strikes my foe. — 

Madmen, forbear your frantic jar ! 

What ! is the Douglas fallen so far. 

His daughter's hand is deemed the spoil 

Of such dishonorable broil ? " 790 

Sullen and slowly they unclasp, 

As struck with shame, their desperate grasp, 

And each upon his rival glared. 

With foot advanced and blade half bared. 



XXXV. 

Ere yet the brands aloft were flung, 795 

Margaret on Roderick's mantle hung, 

And Malcolm heard his Ellen's scream, 

As faltered through terrific dream. 

Then Roderick plunged in sheath his sword. 

And veiled his wrath in scornful word : 800 



70 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. r axto ii. 

" Rest safe till morning ; pity 'twere 

Such cheek should feel the midnight air ! 

Then mayst thou to James Stuart tell, 

Roderick will keep the lake and fell, 

Nor lackey with his freeborn clan son 

The pageant pomp of earthly man. 

More would he of Clan-Alpine know, 

Thou canst our strength and passes show. — 

Malise, what ho ! " — his henchman came : 

" Give our safe-conduct to the Grteme." sio 

Young Malcolm answered, calm and bold : 

" Fear nothing for thy favorite hold ; 

The spot an angel deigned to grace 

Is blessed, though robbers haunt the place. 

Thy churlish courtesy for those 815 

Reserve, who fear to be thy foes. 

As safe to me the mountain way 

At midnight as in l^laze of day. 

Though with his boldest at his back 

Even Roderick Dhu beset the track. — 820 

Brave Douglas, — lovely Ellen, — nay, 

Naught here of parting will I say. 

Earth does not hold a lonesome glen 

So secret but we meet again. — 

802. Such cheek should feel the midnight air. Hardihood was in 
every respect so essential to the character of a Highlander, that the 
reproach of effeminacy was the most bitter which could be thrown upon 
him. Scott. — 804. Fell. A mountain. — 805. Lackey. To serve as foot- 
man or wait upon. — 80ii. Pageant pomp. Showy disphiy. 

.son. Henchman. This officer is a sort of secretary, and is to be ready, 
upon all occasions, to venture his life in defence of his master; and at 
drinking-bouts he stands behind his seat, at his haunch, from which his 
title is derived, and M'atches the conversation, to see if any one offends his 
patron. Scott. 



.ANTo 11. THE ISLAND. 71 

Chieftain ! we too shall find an hour," — 825 

He said, and left the sylvan bower. 



XXXVI. 

Old Allan followed to the strand — 

Such was the Douglas's command — 

And anxious told, how, on the morn. 

The stern Sir Roderick deep had sworn, «:}(' 

The Fiery Cross should circle o'er 

Dale, glen, and valley, down and moor. 

Much were the peril to the Graeme 

From those who to the signal came ; 

Far up the lake 'twere safest land, «*^' 

Himself would row him to the strand. 

He gave his counsel to the wind, 

While Malcolm did, unheeding, bind. 

Round dirk and pouch and broadsword rolled, 

His ample plaid in tightened fold, «40 

And stripped his limbs to such array 

As best might suit the watery way, — 

XXXVII. 

Then spoke abrupt : " Farewell to thee. 

Pattern of old fidelity ! " 

The Minstrel's hand he kindly pressed, — »4o 

" O, could I point a place of rest ! 

My sovereign holds in ward my land. 

My uncle leads my vassal band; 

832. Down. A barren tract of sand-hills blown up by the wind. — 
Moor. Waste land. 

847. My sovereign holds in ward my land. Because Malcolm was 
not of age. 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto ii. 

To tame his foes, his friends to aid, 

Poor Malcolm has but heart and blade. 85o 

Yet, if there be one faithful Graeme 

Who loves the chieftain of his name, 

Not long shall honored Douglas dwell 

Like hunted stag in mountain cell ; 

Nor, ere yon pride-swollen robber dare, — ^55 

I may not give the rest to air ! 

Tell Roderick Dhu I owed him naught, 

Not the poor service of a boat, 

To waft me to yon mountain-side." 

Then plunged he in the flashing tide. 860 

Bold o'er the flood his head he bore, 

And stoutly steered him from the shore ; 

And Allan strained his anxious eye, 

F'ar mid the lake his form to spy, 

Darkening across each puny wave, 865 

To which the moon her silver gave. 

Fast as the cormorant could skim. 

The swimmer plied each active limb ; 

Then landing in the moonlight dell. 

Loud shouted of his weal to tell. 870 

The minstrel heard the far halloo, 

And joyful from the shore withdrew. 

867. Cormorant. Sea-bird resembling a crow. 

86'J. DeU. Ravine. — 870. Weal. Welfare or safety. 



OUTLINE OF CANTO THIRD, 



Canto III. is almost entirely taken up with the gathering by 
means of the Fiery Cross. See Note, line 18. The cross is con- 
secrated, and is at once entrusted to Malise, Roderick's henchman. 
He bears it eastward, and it is passed on from one hand to another, 
interrupting wedding and funeral alike, till the clan is gathered in 
Lanrick mead. 

Roderick meanwhile has been reconnoitring, but finds no trace 
of the foes whom he had expected. The Douglas and his daughter 
have left the island, in order not to imperil their host, and have 
taken refuge in a cavern on the side of Benvenue, which the super- 
stition of the age " debarred to vulgar tread," and thither Roderick 
comes, and, hovering over the treasure he has lost, hears Ellen's 
voice for the last time, and then hastens to join his men. — Taylor. 



THE GATHERING. 



Time rolls his ceaseless course. The race of yore, 

Who danced our infancy upon their knee, 
And told our marvelling boyhood legends store 

Of their strange ventures happed by land or sea, 
How they are blotted from the things that be ! r> 

How few, all weak and withered of their force, 
Wait on the verge of dark eternity, 

Like stranded wrecks, the tide returning hoarse, 
To sweep them from our sight ! Time rolls his ceaseless 
course. 

Yet live there still who can remember well, lo 

How, when a mountain chief his bugle blew, 
Both field and forest, dingle, cliff, and dell. 

And solitary heath, the signal knew ; 
And fast the faithful clan around him drew. 

What time the warning note was keenly wound, 15 
What time aloft their kindred banner flew. 

While clamorous war-pipes yelled the gathering sound. 
And while the Fiery Cross glanced, like a meteor, round. 

3. Legends. Remarkable stories handed down from former times. 

4. Ventures. Undertakings of chance or danger. — 13. Heath. See 
note, Canto I., line 91). Here, the lonely place where the heath grows. 

IS. Fiery Cross. When a chieftain designed to .summon his clan, upon 
any sudden or important emergency, he slew a goat, and making a cross of 



CANTO III. 



THE GATHERING. 75 



n. 

The Summer dawn's reflected hue 

To purple changed Loch Katrine blue ; l'o 

Mildly and soft the western breeze 

Just kissed the lake, just stirred the trees, 

And the pleased lake, like maiden coy, 

Trembled but dimpled not for joy : 

The mountain shadows on her breast 25 

Were neither broken nor at rest ; 

In bright uncertainty they lie, 

Like future joys to Fancy's eye. 

The water-lily to the light 

Her chalice reared of silver bright ; so 

The doe awoke, and to the lawn, 

Begemmed with dew-drops, led her fawn ; 

The gray mist left the mountain-side. 

The torrent showed its glistening pride ; 

any light wood, seared its extremities in the fire, and extinguished them in 
the blood of the animal. This was called the Fiery Cross, also Cream 
Tarif/h, or the Cross of Shame, because disobedience to what the symbol 
implied inferred infamy. It was delivered to a swift and trusty messenger, 
who ran full speed with it to the next hamlet, where he presented it to the 
principal person, with a single word, imi^lying the place of rendezvous. 
He who received the symbol was bound to send it forward, with equal 
dispatch, to the next village; and thus it passed with incredible celerity 
through all the district which owed allegiance to the chief, and also among 
his allies and neighbors, if the danger was common to them. At sight of 
the Fiery Cross, every man, from sixteen years old to sixty, capable of 
bearing arms, was obliged instantly to repair, in his best arms and accoutre- 
ments, to the place of rendezvous. He who failed to appear, suffered the 
extremities of fire and sword, which wei'e emblematically denounced to the 
disobedient by the bloody and burnt marks upon this warlike signal. 
During the civil war of 1745-6, the Fiery Cross often made its circuit; aud 
upon one occasion it passed through the whole district of Breadalbane, a 
tract of thirty-two miles, in three hours. Scott. 

23. Coy. Reserved, shy. —30. Chalice. Cup or bowl. 



76 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iii. 

Invisible in flecked sky 35 

The lark sent down her revelry ; 

The blackbird and the speckled thrush 

Good-morrow gave from brake and bush; 

In answer cooed the cushat dove 

Her notes of peace and rest and love. 40 

III. 

No thought of peace, no thought of rest, 

Assuaged the storm in Roderick's breast. 

"With sheathed broadsword in his hand, 

Abrupt he paced the islet strand, 

And eyed the rising sun, and laid 45 

His hand on his impatient blade. 

Beneath a rock, his vassals' care 

Was prompt the ritual to prepare, 

With deep and deathful meaning fraught ; 

For such Antiquity had taught 50 

Was preface meet, ere yet abroad 

The Cross of Fire should take its road. 

The shrinking band stood oft aghast 

At the impatient glance he cast ; — 

Such glance the mountain eagle threw, So 

As, from the cliffs of Benvenue, 

She spread her dark sails on the wind, 

And, high in middle heaven reclined, 

With her broad shadow on the lake, 

Silenced the warblers of the brake. 60 

36. Revelry. Noisy festivity. — 39. Cushat. King-dove or wood pigeon. 

48. Ritual. Performance of religious service. 

50. Antiquity. Olden times. 

53. Aghast. Struck with amazement. 



CANTO III. THE GATHERING. 77 

IV. 

A heap of withered boughs was piled, 

Of juniper and rowan wild, 

Mingled with shivers from the oak. 

Rent by the lightning's recent stroke. 

Brian the Hermit by it stood, §5 

Barefooted, in his frock and hood. 

His grizzled beard and matted hair 

Obscured a visage of despair ; 

His naked arms and legs, seamed o'er, 

The scars of frantic penance bore. 70 

That monk, of savage form and face, 

The impending danger of his race 

Had drawn from deepest solitude, 

Far in Benharrow's bosom rude. 

Not his the mien of Christian priest, 75 

But Druid's, from the grave released, 

Whose hardened heart and eye might brook 

On human sacrifice to look ; 

And much, 'twas said, of heathen lore 

Mixed in the charms he muttered o'er. 80 

62. Bowan. European mountain-ash. 

70. Penance. Suffering or labor self-inflicted or imposed by ecclesias- 
tical authority as a punishment for faults. 

71. That monk, etc. The state of religion in the middle ages afforded 
considerable facilities for those whose mode of life excluded them from 
regular worship, to secure, nevertheless, the ghostly assistance of con- 
fessors, perfectly willing to adapt the nature of their doctrine to the 
necessities and peculiar circumstances of their flock. Robin Hood, it is 
well known, had his celebrated domestic chaplain. Friar Tuck. Scott. 

74. Benharrow. A mountain near Loch Lomond. 

76. Druid. A priest of the Celtic inhabitants of Gaul and Britain. 
They worshipped in groves, and made human sacrifices. 



78 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto hi. 

The hallowed creed gave only worse 

And deadlier emphasis of curse. 

No ])easant sought that Hermit's prayer, 

His cave the pilgrim shunned with care ; 

The eager huntsman knew his bound, 85 

And in mid chase called off his hound ; 

Or if, in lonely glen or strath, 

The desert-dweller met his path. 

He prayed, and signed the cross between, 

While terror took devotion's mien. so 

V. 

Of Brian's birth strange tales were told. 

His mother watched a midnight fold. 

Built deep within a dreary glen. 

Where scattered lay the bones of men 

In some forgotten battle slain, 95 

And bleached by drifting wind and rain. 

It might have tamed a warrior's heart 

To view such mockery of his art ! 

The knot-grass fettered there the hand 

Which once could burst an iron band ; lOO 

Beneath the broad and ample bone, 

That bucklered heart to fear unknown, 

A feeble and a timorous guest, 

The fieldfare framed her lowly nest ; 

81. Hallowed creed. The hallowed or Christian creed as distinguished 
from heathen lore or knowledge. 

87. Glen. A narrow valley through which a small stream usually 
flows. — Strath. A valley of considerable size through which a river runs. 

92. Fold. An inclosure for animals. —99. Knot-grass. Twitch-grass, 
a kind of grass that is dilficult to exterminate. — 102. Bucklered. Pro- 
tected by a shield. — 104. Fieldfare. A kind of thrush. 



CANTO III. THE GATHERING. 79 

There the slow blindworm left his slime lOo 

On the fleet limbs that mocked at time ; 

And there, too, lay the leader's skull. 

Still wreathed with chaplet, flushed and full, 

For heath-bell with her purple bloom 

Supplied the bonnet and the plume. no 

All night, in this sad glen, the maid 

Sat shrouded in her mantle's shade : 

She said no shepherd sought her side, 

No hunter's hand her snood untied, 

Yet ne'er again to braid her hair lis 

The virgin snood did Alice wear ; 

Gone was her maiden glee and sport, 

Her maiden girdle all too short, 

Nor sought she, from that fatal night, 

Or holy church or blessed rite, 120 

But locked her secret in her breast. 

And died in travail, unconfessed. 

VI. 

Alone, among his young compeers, 

Was Brian from liis infant years ; 

A moody and heart-broken boy, 125 

Estranged from sympathy and joy, 

Bearing each taunt which careless tongue 

On his mysterious lineage flung. 

Whole nights he sj^ent by moonlight pale, 

To wood and stream his hap to wail, 130 

116. Snood. The suood, or riband, with which a Scottish lass braided 
her hair, had an emblematical signification, and applied to her maiden 
character. It was exchanged for the curch, toy, or coif, when she passed, 
by marriage, into the matron state. Scott. — 123. Compeers. Compan- 
ions. — 125. Moody. Sad. — 126. Estranged. Withheld, alienated. 

128. Mysterious lineage. Uukuowu parentage. 



80 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto hi. 

Till, frantic, he as truth received 

What of his birth the crowd believed, 

And sought, in mist and meteor tire, 

To meet and know his Phantom Sire ! 

In vain, to soothe his wayward fate, 135 

The cloister oped her pitying gate ; 

In vain the learning of the age 

Unclasped the sable-lettered page ; 

Even in its treasures he could find 

Food for the fever of his mind. ' 140 

Eager he read whatever tells 

Of magic, cabala, and spells, 

And every dark pursuit allied 

To curious and presumptuous pride ; 

Till with fired brain and nerves o'erstrung, 145 

And heart with mystic horrors wrung. 

Desperate he sought Benharrow's den. 

And hid him from the haunts of men. 

VII. 

The desert gave him visions wild, 

Such as might suit the spectre's child. 150 

Where with black cliffs the torrents toil, 

He watched the wheeling eddies boil. 

Till from their foam his dazzled eyes 

Beheld the River Demon rise : 

133. Meteor fire. Fiery appearance in the sky; a shooting star. 

138. Sable-lettered page. Black lettered, so called because of the 
heavy-faced type used in early prints. 

142. Magic, cabala, spells. Enchantment, mystery, charms. 

154. Eiver Demon. The River Demon, or River-horse, for it is that 
form which he commonly assumes, is the Kelpy of the Lowlands, an evil 
and malicious spirit, delighting to forebode and to witness calamity. Scott. 



CANTO III. 



THE GATHERING. 81 



The mountain mist took form and limb 155 

Of noontide hag or goblin grim ; 

The midnight wind came wild and dread, 

Swelled with the voices of the dead ; 

Far on the future battle-heath 

His eye beheld the ranks of death : 160 

Thus the lone Seer, from mankind hurled, 

Shaped forth a disembodied world. 

One lingering sympathy of mind 

Still bound him to the mortal kind ; 

The only parent he could claim 165 

Of ancient Alpine's lineage came. 

Late had he heard, in prophet's dream, 

The fatal Ben-Shie's boding scream ; 

Sounds, too, had come in midnight blast 

Of charging steeds, careering fast 170 

Along Benharrow's shingly side, 

Where mortal horseman ne'er might ride ; 

The thunderbolt had split the pine, — 

All augured ill to Alpine's line. 

156. Hag. An ugly old woman; a fury. — Goblin. An evil spirit. 
162. Disembodied world. Worid of spirits. 

168. Ben-Shie. Most great families in the Highlands were supposed to 
have a tutelar, or rather a domestic spirit, attached to them, who took an 
interest in their prosperity, and intimated by its wailings any approaching 
disaster. Ben-Shie implies a female fairy, whose lamentations were often 
supposed to precede the death of a chieftain of particular families. Scott. 

169. Sounds, too, had come. A presage of the kind alluded to in the 
text, is still believed to announce death to the ancient Highland family of 
M'Lean of Loch Buy. The spirit of an ancestor slain in battle is heard to 
gallop along a stony bank, and then to ride thrice around the family resi- 
dence, ringing his fairy bridle, and thus intimating the approaching 
calamity. How easily the eye as well as the ear may be deceived upon 
such occasions, is evident from the stories of armies in the air, and other 
spectral phenomena with which history abounds. Scott. 

171. Shingly. Gravelly. — 174. Augured. Foretold. 



82 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto hi. 

He girt his loins, and came to show 175 

The signals of impending woe, 

And now stood prompt to bless or ban, 

As bade the Chieftain of his clan. 

VIII. 
'Twas all prepared ; — and from the rock 
A goat, the patriarch of the flock, 180 

Before the kindling pile was laid, 
And pierced by Roderick's ready blade. 
Patient the sickening victim eyed 
The life-blood ebb in crimson tide 
Down his clogged beard and shaggy liml), 185 

Till darkness glazed his eyeballs dim. 
The grisly priest, with niurmnring prayer, 
A slender crosslet framed with care, 
A cubit's length in measure due ; 
The shaft and limbs were rods of yew, 190 

Whose parents in Inch-Cailliach wave 
Their shadows o'er Clan- Alpine's grave, 

176. Impending. Overhanging or threatening. — 177. Ban. To curse. 
180. Patriarch. Father or leader. — 188. Crosslet. A little cross. 

189. Cubit. A measure of length, being the distance from the elbow to 
the end of tlie middle finger. 

190. Yew. An evergreen tree frequently found in British churchyards. 

191. Inch-Cailliach. The Isle of Nuns, or of Old Women, is a most 
beautiful island at the lower extremity of Loch Lomond. The church 
belonging to the former nunnery was long used as the place of worship for 
the parish of Buchanan, but scarce any vestiges of it now remain. The 
burial ground continues to be used, and contains the family places of 
sepulture of several neighboring clans. The monuments of the lairds of 
MacGregor, and of other families, claiming a descent from the old Scottish 
King Alpine, are most remarkable. The Highlanders are as zealous of 
their rights of sepulture, as may be ex2>ected from a people, whose whole 
laws and government, if clanship can be called so, turned upon the single 
principle of family descent. Scott. 



CANTO III. 



THE GATHERING. 83 



And, answering Lomond's breezes deep, 

Soothe many a chieftain's endless sleep. 

The Cross thns formed he held on high, 195 

With wasted hand and haggard eye, 

And strange and mingled feelings woke, 

While his anathema he spoke : — 

IX. 

" Woe to the clansman who shall view 

This symbol of sepulchral yew, i^oo 

Forgetful that its branches grew 

Where weep the heavens their holiest dew 

On Alpine's dwelling low ! 
Deserter of his Chieftain's trust, 
He ne'er shall mingle with their dust, 205 

But, from his sires and kindred thrust, 
Each clansman's execration just 

Shall doom him wrath and woe." 
He paused ; — the word the vassals took. 
With forward step and fiery look, 210 

On high their naked brands they shook, 
Their clattering targets wildly strook ; 

And first in murmur low. 
Then, like the billow in his course. 
That far to seaward finds his source, 215 

And flings to shore his mustered force, 

196. Haggard. Sunken by suffering. — 198. Anathema. A ban or 
curse pronounced by the church. 

200. Symbol. Emblem or sign. — Sepulchral. Pertaining to the grave. 
— Yew. Yew-trees were often planted in cemeteries. 

207. Execration. Curse. 

209. Vassal. One holding lands of a superior, and vowing fidelity and 
homage to him. ^^Hj.— 212. Strook. Old form of struck. 



84 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto hi. 

Burst with loud roar their answer hoarse, 

" Woe to the traitor, woe ! " 
Ben-an's gray scalp the accents knew. 
The joyous wolf from covert drew, 220 

The exulting eagle screamed afar, — 
They knew the voice of Alpine's war. 

X. 

The shout was hushed on lake and fell. 

The Monk resumed his muttered spell : 

Dismal and low its accents came, 225 

The while he scathed the Cross with flame ; 

And the few words that reached the air, 

Although the holiest name was there. 

Had more of blasphemy than prayer. 

But when he shook above the crowd 230 

Its kindled points, he spoke aloud : — 

" Woe to the wretch who fails to rear 

At this dread sign the ready spear ! 

For, as the flames this symbol sear, 

His home, the refuge of his fear, 235 

A kindred fate shall know ; 
Far o'er its roof the volumed flame 
Clan-Alpine's vengeance shall proclaim. 
While maids and matrons on his name 
Shall call down wretchedness and shame, 240 

And infamy and woe." 
Then rose the cry of females, shrill 
As goshawk's whistle on the hill, 

219. Ben-An's gray scalp. Bare top. —220. Covert. Shelter, thicket, 
or hiding-place. — 22(). Scathed. Charred.— 241. Infamy. Public dis- 
grace. — 24.'?. Goshawk. A slender, brown hawk, with white breast. 



CANTO III. THE GATHERING. 85 

Denouncing misery and ill, 

Mingled with childhood's babbling trill 245 

Of curses stammered slow ; 
Answering with imprecation dread, 
" Sunk be his home in embers red ! 
And cursed be the meanest shed 
That e'er shall hide the houseless head 250 

We doom to want and woe ! " 
A sharp and shrieking echo gave, 
Coir-Uriskin, thy goblin cave ! 
And the gray pass where birches wave 

On Beala-nam-bo. 255 

XI. 

Then deeper paused the priest anew, 

And hard his laboring breath he drew, 

Wliile, with set teeth and clenched hand. 

And eyes that glowed like fiery brand. 

He meditated curse more dread, 260 

And deadlier, on the clansman's head 

Who, summoned to his chieftain's aid. 

The signal saw and disobeyed. 

The crosslet's points of sparkling wood 

He quenched among the bubbling blood, 2fir. 

248. Embers. Lighted coals smouldering in ashes. 

253. Coir-TJriskin, or Coir-nam-Uriskin ("the corry, or den, of the 
wild men"), a hollow cleft in the northern side of Benvenue, supposed to 
be liaunted by fairies and evil spirits. It is surrounded by rocks and over- 
shadowed by birch-trees, so as to give complete shelter. The Urisk is the 
equivalent of the Grecian Satyr, having a human form with goat's feet. 
Taylor. 

255. Beala-nam-bo, or the pass of cattle, is a most magnificent glade, 
overhimg with aged birch-trees, a little higher up the mountain than the 
Coir-nam-Uriskin. Scott, 



86 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto hi. 

And, as again the sign he reared, 

Hollow and hoarse his voice was heard : 

"• When flits this Cross from man to man, 

Vich-Alpine's summons to his clan. 

Burst be the ear that fails to heed ! 270 

Palsied the foot that shuns to speed ! 

May ravens tear the careless eyes, 

Wolves make the coward heart their prize ! 

As sinks that blood-stream in the earth, 

So may his heart's-blood drench his hearth ! 275 

As dies in hissing gore the spark, 

Quench thou his light. Destruction dark ! 

And be the grace to him denied. 

Bought by this sign to all beside ! " 

He ceased; no echo gave again 280 

The murmur of the deep Amen. 

XII. 

Then Roderick with impatient look 

From Brian's hand the symbol took : 

" Speed, Malise, speed ! " he said, and gave 

The crosslet to his henchman brave. 285 

" The muster-jilace be Lanrick mead — 

Instant the time — speed, Malise, speed!" 

Like heath-bird, when the hawks pursue, 

A barge across Loch Katrine flew : 

High stood the henchman on the prow ; 290 

So rapidly the barge-men row, 

The bubbles, where they launched the boat, 

Were all unbroken and afloat, 

271. Palsied. The muscles having lost their power of answering to the 
will. — 28G. Lanrick mead. A meadow bordering on Loch Vennachar. 



CANTO in. THE GATHERING. 87 

Dancing in foam and ripple still, 

When it had neared the mainland hill ; 295 

And from the silver beach's side 

Still was the prow three fathom wide, 

When lightly bounded to the land 

The messenger of blood and brand. 

xni. 

Speed, Malise, speed ! the dun deer's hide 300 

On fleeter foot was never tied. 

Speed, Malise, speed ! such cause of haste 

Thine active sinews never braced. 

Bend 'gainst the steepy hill thy breast. 

Burst down like torrent from its crest ; 305 

With short and springing footstep pass 

The trembling bog and false morass ; 

Across the brook like roebuck bound. 

And thread the brake like questing hound ; 

The crag is high, the scaur is deep, 3io 

Yet shrink not from the desperate leap : 

Parched are thy burning lips and brow, 

Yet by the fountain pause not now ; 

Herald of battle, fate, and fear. 

Stretch onward in thy fleet career ! 315 

The Avounded hind thou track'st not now, 

Pursuest not maid through greenwood bough. 

Nor pliest thou now thy flying pace 

With rivals in the mountain race ; 

.SOO. Dun deer's hide. The ancient buskin of the Highlander was made 
of the undressed deer's hide, with the hair outwards. 

307. Morass. Soft, wet ground. —309. Questing. Hunting. 
310. Scaur [6c«"j-]. Steep bank ; cliff .— 310. Hind. Female deer. 



88 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto hi. 

But danger, death, and warrior deed 320 

Are in thy course — speed, Malise, speed ! 

XIV. 

Fast as the fatal symbol flies, 

In arms the huts and liamlets rise ; 

From winding glen, from upland brown, 

They poured each hardy tenant down. 325 

Nor slacked the messenger his pace ; 

He showed the sign, he named the place. 

And, pressing forward like the wind. 

Left clamor and surprise behind. 

The fisherman forsook the strand, 330 

The swarthy smith took dirk and brand ; 

With changed cheer, the mower blithe 

Left in the half-cut swath his scythe ; 

The herds witliout a keeper strayed. 

The plough was in mid-furrow stayed, 335 

The falconer tossed his hawk away. 

The hunter left the stag at bay ; 

Prompt at the signal of alarms. 

Each son of Alpine rushed to arms ; 

So swept the tumult and affray 340 

Along the margin of Achray. 

Alas, thou lovely lake ! that e'er 

Thy banks should echo sounds of fear ! 

The rocks, the bosky thickets, sleep 

So stilly on thy bosom deep, 345 

The lark's blithe carol from the cloud 

Seems for the scene too gayly loud. 

329. Clamor. Loud outcry. — 330. Strand. Shore. — 331. Swarthy. 
Black. — 333. Swath. The grass cut by the sweep of a scythe iu mow- 
ing. — 344. Bosky. Woody or bushy. — 346. Blithe carol. Merry song. 



CANTO III. THE GATHERING. 89 

XV. 

Speed, Malise, speed ! The lake is past, 

Duncraggan's huts appear at last, 

And peep, like moss-grown rocks, half seen, 350 

Half hidden in the copse so green ; 

There mayst thou rest, thy labor done. 

Their lord shall speed the signal on. — 

As stoops the hawk upon his prey. 

The henchman shot him down the way. ^»5 

What woeful accents load the gale ? 

The funeral yell, the female wail ! 

A gallant hunter's sport is o'er, 

A valiant warrior fights no more. 

Who, in the battle or the chase, 360 

At Roderick's side shall fill his place ! — 

Within the hall, where torch's ray 

Supplies the excluded beams of day. 

Lies Duncan on his lowly bier, 

And o'er him streams his widow's tear. 365 

His stripling son stands mournful by, 

His youngest weeps, but knows not why ; 

The village maids and matrons round 

The dismal coronach resound. 

XVI. 

He is gone on the mountain, 370 

He is lost to the forest, 

349. Duncraggan. A homestead near the Brigg of Turk. 

369, Coronach. The Coronach of the Highlanders was a wild expres- 
sion of lamentation, poured forth hy the mourners over the body of a departed 
friend. When the words of it were articulate, they expressed the praises of 
the deceased, and the loss the clan would sustain by his death. Scott. 



90 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto m. 

Like a summer-dried fountain, 
When our need was the sorest. 

The font, reappearing, 

From the rain-drops shall borrow, 375 

But to us comes no cheering. 
To Duncan no morrow ! 

The hand of the reaper 

Takes the ears that are hoary. 
But the voice of the weeper 380 

Wails manhood in glory. 
The autumn winds rushing 

Waft the leaves that are searest. 
But our flower was in flushing. 

When blighting was nearest. 385 

Fleet foot on the correi, 

Sage counsel in cumber, 
Red hand in the foray, 

How sound is thy slumber! 
Like the dew on the mountain, 390 

Like the foam on the river, 
Like the bubble on the fountain, 

Thou art gone, and forever ! 

XVII. 

See Stumah, who, the bier beside, 

His master's corpse with wonder eyed, Siio 

Poor Stumah ! whom his least halloo 

Could send like lightning o'er the dew, 

379. Hoary. White with age; ripe for the harvest. —383. Searest. Dry- 
est. — .'584. Flushing. Full bloom. —. 386. Correi. The hollow side of the 
hill, where game usually lies. — 387. Cumber. Trouble, perplexity. 

394. Stumah. Faithful. The uame of a dog. 



CANTO III. THE GATHERING. 91 

Bristles his crest, and points his ears, 

As if some stranger step he hears. 

'Tis not a mourner's muffled tread, 400 

Who comes to sorrow o'er the dead, 

But headlong haste or deadly fear 

Urge the precipitate career. 

All stand aghast : — unheeding all, 

The henchman bursts into the hall ; 405 

Before the dead man's bier he stood. 

Held forth the Cross besmeared with blood ; 

" The muster-place is Lanrick mead ; 

Speed forth the signal I clansmen, speed ! " 

XVIII. 

Angus, the heir of Duncan's line, 410 

Sprung forth and seized the fatal sign. 

In haste the stripling to his side 

His father's dirk and broadsword tied ; 

But when he saw his mother's eye 

Watch him in speechless agony, 416 

Back to her opened arms he flew, 

Pressed on her lips a fond adieu, — 

" Alas ! " she sobbed, — " and yet be gone, 

And speed thee forth, like Duncan's son ! " 

One look he cast upon the bier, 42o 

Dashed from his eye the gathering tear. 

Breathed deep to clear his laboring breast. 

And tossed aloft his bonnet crest, 

Then, like the high-bred colt when, freed. 

First he essays his fire and speed, 425 

He vanished, and o'er moor and moss 

Sped forward with the Fiery Cross. 



92 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto hi. 

Suspended was the widow's tear 

While yet his footsteps she could hear ; 

And when she marked the henchman's eye 430 

Wet with unwonted sympathy, 

"Kinsman," she said, "his race is run 

That should have sped thine errand on ; 

The oak has fallen, — the sapling bough 

Is all Duncraggan's shelter now. 435 

Yet trust I well, his duty done, 

The orphan's God will guard my son. — 

And you, in many a danger true. 

At Duncan's hest your blades that drew, 

To arms, and guard that orphan's head ! 440 

Let babes and women wail the dead." 

Then weapon-clang and martial call 

Resounded through the funeral hall, 

While from the walls the attendant band 

Snatched sword and targe with hurried hand ; 445 

And short and flitting energy 

Glanced from the mourner's sunken eye, 

As if the sounds to warrior dear 

Might rouse her Duncan from his bier. 

But faded soon that borrowed force ; 450 

Grief claimed his right, and tears their course. 

XIX. 

Benledi saw the Cross of Fire, 

It glanced like lightning up Strath-Ire. 

439. Hest. Behest, command. —445. Targe. Target. 

453. Strath-Ire. The first stage of the Fiery Cross is to Duncraggan, a 
place near the Brigg of Turk, where a short stream divides Loch Achray 
from Loch Vennachar. From thence, it passes towards Callender, and 
then, turning to the left up the pass of Leny, is consigned to Norman at 



CANTO III. THE GATHERING. 93 

O'er dale and hill the summons flew, 

Nor rest nor pause young Angus knew ; 455 

The tear that gathered in his eye 

He left the mountain-breeze to dry ; 

Until, where Teith's young waters roll 

Betwixt him and a wooded knoll 

That graced the sable strath with green, 460 

The chapel of Saint Bride was seen. 

Swoln was the stream, remote the bridge, 

But Angus paused ^ot on the edge ; 

Though the dark waves danced dizzily, 

Though reeled his sympathetic eye, 465 

He dashed amid the torrent's roar : 

His right hand high the crosslet bore, 

His left the pole-axe grasped, to guide 

And stay liis footing in the tide. 

He stumbled twice, — the foam splashed high, 470 

With hoarser swell the stream raced by ; 

And had he fallen, — forever there, 

Farewell Duncraggan's orphan heir! 

But still, as if in parting life, 

Firmer he grasped the Cross of strife, 475 

Until the opi^osing bank he gained. 

And up the chapel pathway strained. 

XX. 

A blithesome rout that morning-tide 
Had sought the chapel of Saint Bride. 

the chapel of Saint Bride, which stood on a small and romantic knoll in 
the middle of the valley, called Strath-Ire. Tombea and Arnandave, or 
Ardmandave, are names of places in the vicinity. The alarm is then sup- 
posed to pass along the lake of Lubnaig, and through the various glens in 
the district of Balquidder, including the neighboring ti-acts of Glenlinlas and 
Strath-Gartney. Scott. —468. Pole-axe. A kind of long-handled hatchet. 



94 THP: lady of the lake. canto hi. 

Her troth Tombea's Mary gave 480 

To Norman, heir of Armandave, 
And, issuing from the Gothic arch. 
The bridal now resumed their march. 
In rude but glad procession came 
Bonneted sire and coif-clad dame; 485 

And plaided youth, with jest and jeer, 
Which snooded maiden would not hear ; 
And cliildren, that, unwitting why. 
Lent the gay shout their shrilly cry ; 
And minstrels, that in measures vied 45K) 

Before the young and bonny bride. 
Whose downcast eye and cheek disclose 
The tear and blush of morning rose. 
With virgin step and bashful hand 
She held the kerchief's snowy band. 49.5 

The gallant bridegroom by her side 
• Beheld his prize with victor's pride. 
And the glad mother in her ear 
Was closely whispering word of cheer. 

XXI. 

Who meets them at the churchyard gate ? 50o 

The messenger of fear and fate ! 

Haste in his hurried accent lies. 

And grief is swimming in his eyes. 

All dripping from the recent flood, 

Panting and travel-soiled he stood, 505 

The fatal sign of fire and sword 

Held forth, and spoke the appointed word : 

485, 495. Coif, kerchief. See line 116. 



CANTO HI. THE GATHERING. 95 

" The muster-place is Lanrick mead ; 

Speed forth the signal ! Norman, speed ! " 

And must he change so soon the hand 5io 

Just linked to his by holy band, 

For the fell Cross of blood and brand ? 

And must the day so blithe that rose, 

And promised rapture in the close, 

Before its setting hour, divide 515 

The bridegroom from the plighted bride ? 

O fatal doom ! — it must ! it must! 

Clan-Alpine's cause, her Chieftain's trust, 

Her summons dread, brook no delay ; 

Stretch to the race, — away ! away ! 520 

XXII. 

Yet slow he laid his plaid aside, 

And lingering eyed his lovely bride, 

Until he saw the starting tear 

Speak woe he might not stop to cheer ; 

Then, trusting not a second look, 525 

In haste he sped him up the brook, 

Nor backward glanced till on the heath 

Where Lubnaig's lake supplies the Teith. — 

What in the racer's bosom stirred ? 

The sickening pang of hope deferred, 530 

And memory with a torturing train 

Of all his morning visions vain. 

Mingled with love's impatience, came 

The manly thirst for martial fame ; 

The stormy joy of mountaineers 535 

Ere yet they rush upon the spears ; 

528. Lubnaig. " The lake of small bends," lying east of Ben Ledi. 



96 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto hi. 

And zeal for Clan and Chieftain burning, 
And hope, from well-fought field returning. 
With war's red honors on his crest. 
To clasp his Mary to his breast. 640 

Stung by such thoughts, o'er bank and brae, 
Like fire from flint he glanced away, 
While high resolve and feeling strong- 
Burst into voluntary song. 



XXIII. 

The heath this night must be my bed, 545 

The bracken curtain for my head. 
My lullaby the warder's tread. 

Far, far, from love and thee, Mary ; 
To-morrow eve, more stilly laid, 
My couch may be my bloody plaid, 550 

My vesper song thy wail, sweet maid ! 

It will not waken me, Mary ! 

I may not, dare not, fancy now 

The grief that clouds thy lovely brow, 

I dare not think upon thy vow, 555 

And all it promised me, Mary. 
No fond regret must Norman know ; 
When bursts Clan- Alpine on the foe, 
His heart must be like bended bow, 

His foot like arrow free, Mary. 560 

544. Voluntary. Of his own free will. 
54G. Bracken. Feiii. 



CANTO in. THE GATHERING. 97 

A time will come with feeling fraught, 
For, if I fall in battle fought. 
Thy hapless lover's dying thought 

Sliall be a thought on thee, Mary. 
And if returned from conquered foes, 565 

How blithely will the evening close, 
How sweet the linnet sing repose. 

To my young bride and me, Mary ! 

XXIV. 

Not faster o'er thy heathery braes, 

Balquidder, speeds the midnight blaze, 570 

Rushing in conflagration strong 

Thy deep ravines and dells along. 

Wrapping thy cliffs in purple glow. 

And reddening the dark lakes below ; 

Nor faster speeds it, nor so far, 575 

As o'er thy heaths the voice of war. 

The signal roused to martial coil 

The sullen margin of Loch Voil, 

Waked still Loch Doiiie, and to the source 

Alarmed, Balvaig, thy swampy course ; 580 

Thence southward turned its rapid road 

Adown Strath-Gartney's valley broad, 

570. Midnight blaze. The heath on the Scottish moorlands is often set 
fire to, that the sheep may have the advantage of the yonng herbage pro- 
duced, in room of the tough old heather plants. This custom (execrated 
by sportsmen) produces occasionally the most beautiful nocturnal appear- 
ances, similar almost to the discharge of a volcano. Scott. 

572. Raviue. A deep and narrow hollow worn by a stream of water; 
a gorge. 

577. Coil. Tumult, confusion. 

580. Balvaig. River flowing from Lochs Voil and Doine into Lubnaig. 

582. Strath-Gartney. Valley bordering on Loch Katrine. 



1)8 THE LADY 0¥ THE LAKE. canto tii. 

Till rose in arras each man might claim 

A portion of Clan-Alpine's name, 

From the gray sire, whose trembling hand 585 

Could hardly buckle on liis brand, 

To the raw boy, whose shaft and bow 

Were yet scarce terror to the crow. 

Each valley, each sequestered glen, 

Mustered its little horde of men, 59o 

That met as torrents from the height 

In Highland dales their streams unite, 

Still gathering, as they pour along, 

A voice more loud, a tide more strong. 

Till at the rendezvous they stood 595 

By hundreds prompt for blows and blood, 

Each trained to arms since life began, 

Owning no tie but to his clan. 

No oath but by his chieftain's hand. 

No law but Roderick Dhu's command. wx) 

XXV. 

That summer morn had Roderick Dhu 
Surveyed the skirts of Benvenue, 
And sent his scouts o'er hill and heath, 
To view the frontiers of Menteith. 

589. Sequestered. Set apart or retired. 

590. Horde, riaii or tribe. 

595. Rendezvous. An appointed place for meeting, especially for 
troops or ships of war. 

599. By his chieftain's hand. The deep and implicit respect paid by 
the Highland clansmen to tlieir chief, rendered this both a common and a 
solemn oath. In otlier respects, tliey were like most savage nations, 
capricions in their ideas concerning the obligatory power of oaths. Scott. 

002. Skirts. Borders, margins. 



CANTO III. THE GATHERING. 99 

All backward came with news of truce; fio.5 

Still lay each martial Grseme and Bruce, 

In Rednock courts no horsemen wait, 

No banner waved on Cardross gate, 

On Duchray's towers no beacon shone, 

Nor scared the herons from Loch Con ; oio 

All seemed at peace. — Now wot ye why 

The Chieftain with such anxious eye. 

Ere to the muster he repair, 

This western frontier scanned with care ? — 

In Benvenue's most darksome cleft, ois 

A fair though cruel pledge was left ; 

For Douglas, to his promise true, 

That morning from the isle withdrew, 

And in a deep sequestered dell 

Had sought a low and lonely cell. 620 

By many a bard in Celtic tongue 

Has Coir-nan-Uriskin been sung ; 

A softer name the Saxons gave. 

And called the grot the Goblin Cave. 

XXVI. 

It was a wild and strange retreat, 625 

As e'er was trod by outlaw's feet. 
The dell, upon the mountain's crest. 
Yawned like a gash on warrior's breast ; 

606. Grseme. Canto II., Hue 109. —Bruce. .V family illustrious in 
Scottish history. — 607-9. Rednock, Cardross, Duchray. Castles. 

010. Loch Con. "Lake of the dogs," lying between Benvenue and 
Ben Lomond. 

614. Scanned. Examined witli care. 

022. Coir-nan-Uriskin. Canto III., line 253. 



100 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto in. 

Its trench had stayed full many a rock, 

Hnrled by primeval earthquake shock 630 

From Benvenue's gray summit wild, 

And here, in random ruin piled. 

They frowned incumbent o'er the spot, 

And formed the rugged sylvan grot. 

The oak and birch with mingled shade 635 

At noontide there a twilight made. 

Unless when short and sudden shone 

Some straggling beam on cliff or stone, 

With such a glimpse as prophet's eye 

Gains on thy depth, Futurity. 640 

No murmur waked the solemn still, 

Save tinkling of a fountain rill ; 

But when the wind chafed with the lake, 

A sullen sound would u]3ward break, 

With dashing hollow voice, that spoke 645 

The incessant war of wave and rock. 

Suspended cliffs with hideous sway 

Seemed nodding o'er the cavern gray. 

From such a den the wolf had sprung, 

In such the wild-cat leaves her young; 650 

Yet Douglas and his daughter fair 

Sought for a space their safety there. 

Gray Superstition's whisper dread 

Debarred the spot to vulgar tread ; 

For there, she said, did fays resort, 655 

And satyrs hold their sylvan court, 

630. PrimevaL Belonging to the first ages. — 632. Baudom. Without 
aim. 

()33. Incumbent. Lying upon, or overhanging. 

656. Satyr [Sd'tijr]. Note, Canto III., line 253. 



OAXTO III. THE GATHERING. 101 

By moonlight tread their mystic maze, 
And blast the rash beholder's gaze. 

XXVII. 

Now eve, with western shadows long, 

Floated on Katrine bright and strong, 660 

When Roderick with a chosen few 

Repassed the heights of Ben venue. 

Above the Goblin Cave they go, 

Through the wild pass of Beal-nam-bo ; 

The prompt retainers speed before, 665 

To launch the shallop from the shore. 

For 'cross Loch Katrine lies liis way 

To view the passes of Achray, 

And place his clansmen in array. 

Yet lags the Chief in musing mind, 670 

Unwonted sight, his men behind. 

A single page, to bear his sword, 

Alone attended on his lord; 

The rest their way through thickets break. 

And soon await him by the lake. 675 

It was a fair and gallant sight, 

To view them from the neighboring height. 

By the low-levelled sunbeam's light ! 

For strength and stature, from the clan 

Each warrior was a chosen man, 680 

As even afar might well be seen. 

By their proud step and martial mien. 

Their feathers dance, their tartans float, 

Their targets gleam, as by the boat 

672. Page. Boy-servant. 



102 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto hi. 

A wild and warlike group they stand, <i85 

That well became such mountain-strand. 



XXVIII. 

Their Chief with step reluctant still 

Was lingering on the craggy hill. 

Hard by where turned apart the road 

To Douglas's obscure abode. 690 

It was but with that dawning morn 

That Roderick Dhu had proudly sworn 

To drown his love in war's wild roar, 

Nor think of Ellen Douglas more ; 

But he who stems a stream with sand, 695 

And fetters flame with flaxen band, 

Has yet a harder task to prove, — 

By firm resolve to conquer love ! 

Eve finds the Chief, like restless ghost. 

Still hovering near his treasure lost ; too 

For though his haughty heart deny 

A parting meeting to his eye. 

Still fondly strains his anxious ear 

The accents of her voice to hear. 

And inly did he curse the breeze TOi 

That waked to sound the rustling trees. 

But hark ! what mingles in the strain ? 

It is the harp of Allan-bane, 

That wakes its measure slow and high, 

Attuned to sacred minstrelsy. 7io 

What melting voice attends the strings ? 

'Tis Ellen, or an angel, sings. 



CANTO III. THE GATHERING. 103 

XXIX. 

Pgnm to t^c WitQin. 
Ave Maria ! maiden mild ! 

Listen to a maiden's prayer ! 
Thou canst hear though from the wild, 715 

Thou canst save amidst despair. 
Safe may we sleep beneath thy care, 

Though banished, outcast, and reviled — 
Maiden ! hear a maiden's prayer ; 

Mother, hear a suppliant child ! 720 

Ave Maria! 

Ave Maria ! undefiled ! 

The flinty couch we now must share 
Shall seem with down of eider piled, 

If thy protection hover there. 
The murky cavern's heavy air 725 

Shall breathe of balm if thou hast smiled ; 
Then, Maiden ! hear a maiden's prayer, 

Mother, list a suppliant child ! 

Ave Maria! 

Ave Maria! stainless styled ! 

Foul demons of the earth and air, 730 

From this their wonted haunt exiled, 

Shall flee before thy presence fair. 
We bow us to our lot of care, 

Beneath thy guidance reconciled ; 
Hear for a maid a maiden's prayer, 735 

And for a father hear a child ! 

Ave Maria! 

713. Ave Maria! Hail, Mary! The beginning of the Roman Catholic 
prayer to the Virgin Mary. 

723. Down of eider. Soft, fine feathers of the eider duck, a sea-bird 
living in extreme northern regions. — 725. Murky. Dark, gloomy. 



104 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto hi. 

XXX. 

Died on the harp the closing hymn, — 

Unmoved in attitude and limb, 

As listening still, Clan-Alpine's lord 

Stood leaning on his heavy sword, 740 

Until the page with humble sign 

Twice pointed to the sun's decline. 

Then while his plaid he round him cast, 

" It is the last time — 'tis the last," 

He muttered thrice, — " the last time e'er 745 

That angel-voice shall Roderick hear ! " 

It was a goading thought, — his stride 

Hied hastier down the mountain-side ; 

Sullen he flung him in the boat. 

An instant 'cross the lake it shot. 750 

They landed in that silvery bay. 

And eastward liekl their hasty way. 

Till, with the latest beams of light. 

The band arrived on Lanrick height. 

Where mustered in the vale below 755 

Clan-Alpine's men in martial show. 

XXXI. 

A various scene the clansmen made : 

Some sat, some stood, some slowly strayed ; 

But most, with mantles folded round. 

Were couched to rest upon the ground, 7(io 

Scarce to be known by curious eye 

From the deep heather Avhere they lie, 

So well was matched the tartan screen 

With heath-bell dark and brackens green ; 



CANTO III. THE GATHERING. 105 

Unless where, here and there, a blade 765 

Or lance's jioint a glimmer made, 

Like glow-worm twinkling through the shade. 

But when, advancing through the gloom, 

They saw the Chieftain's eagle plume. 

Their shout of welcome, shrill and wide, 770 

Shook the steep mountain's steady side. 

Thrice it arose, and lake and fell 

Three times returned the martial yell ; 

It died upon Bochastle's plain. 

And Silence claimed her evening reigu. ti5 



OUTLINE OF CANTO FOURTH. 



The clans are gathered, the Lowlanders are at Doune waiting 
the command to advance, and Brian tries by a weird augury to 
discover what shall be the issue of the fight. He takes care to 
magnify his own courage and merit in so doing, and declares, as 
the result of his spells, that the victory will rest with those that 
draw the first blood. Meantime the Douglas has left his daughter 
in Allan's charge, and himself is gone on some secret errand, which 
he does not confide to them. Ellen's fears are aroused. She feels 
as by instinct that her father has gone to purchase, by surrender of 
himself, the release of Malcolm Grseme, whom they imagine to be 
captive. In vain the minstrel seeks to cheer her grief. She gives 
little heed to his song. It is hardly ended when Fitz-fJames again 
appears, bent now on carrying her off with him to Stirling, away 
from noise of battle. She has recognized his noble nature, and 
feels that the safest way is to trust him with her secret. He offers 
to stay for her protection ; but Ellen knows better than he the 
danger that this would involve to them both, and declines the 
offer. So he leaves with her a ring, a pledge, as he says, which he 
received from the king, and which will assure her of the king's pro- 
tection. He returns to his guide, who is really a clansman of 
Roderick, set to draw him on, in the belief that he is a spy. They 
set off eastward, when suddenly the guide gives a loud whoop. 
Fitz- James, to whom Allan Bane has already suggested doubts of 
the man's truth, fancies that this is a signal cry; but INIurdoch 
manages for the time to lull his suspicions. Fi-esently they come 
upon a wild-looking woman, taken captive, as Murdoch relates, in 
one of Clan-Alpine's raids in the Lowlands. It had been her 
wedding-morn, and her husband had fallen by Roderick's sword. 
Her reason had given way ; but one passion, that of revenge, is 
awake stiU. She recognizes the knight's Lowland dress, and 



OUTLINE OF CANTO FOURTH. 107 

warns him in a wild song of his danger. He turns upon his 
guide, and bids him disclose his treachery. But the man takes 
to his heels, first discharging a Parthian shot, which grazes the 
knight's helmet, and fatally wounds poor Blanche. Murdoch's 
speed is vain ; he is overtaken and slain before, he can reach his 
friends; and Fitz-James, soothing the mad woman in her last 
hour, swears to avenge her wrong on Roderick. Left without 
guide in the midst of foes, he deems it prudent not to advance till 
nightfall. Then he pursues his way as best he can ; but soon 
comes full upon one of the enemy's watch-fires. He boldly avows 
himself Roderick's foe ; but the stranger, assured that he is not a 
spy, refuses to take advantage of his weariness, and gives him 
shelter for the night, promising to guide him on the morrow to 
the border of the king's domain. — Taylor. 



THE PROPHECY. 



" The rose is fairest when 'tis budding new, 

And hope is brightest when it dawns from fears ; 
The rose is sweetest washed with morning dew, 

And love is loveliest when embalmed in tears. 
O wilding rose, whom fancy thus endears, 5 

I bid your blossoms in my bonnet wave, 
Emblem of hope and love through future years ! " 

Thus spoke young Norman, heir of Armandave, 
What time the sun arose on Vennachar's broad wave. 



II. 

Such fond conceit, half said, half sung, lo 

Love prompted to the bridegroom's tongue. 

All while he stripped the wild-rose spray, 

His axe and bow beside him lay, 

For on a pass 'twixt lake and wood 

A wakeful sentinel he stood. 15 

Hark ! — on the rock a footstep rung, 

And instant to his arms he sprung. 

" Stand, or thou diest ! — What, Malise ? — soon 

Art thou returned from Braes of Doune. 

10. Conceit. Fancy, anticipation. — 11. Prompted. Suggested, urged. 
19. Braes of Doune. Hill slopes on the north side of the Teith. 



CANTO IV. THE PROPHECY. 109 

By thy keen step and glance I know, 20 

Thou bring'st us tidings of the foe." — 

For while the Fiery Cross hied on, 

On distant scout had Malise gone. — 

"Where sleeps the Chief?" the henchman said. 

" Apart, in yonder misty glade ; 25 

To his lone couch I'll be your guide." — 

Then called a slumberer by his side. 

And stirred him with his slackened bow, — 

" Up, up, Glentarkin ! rouse thee, ho ! 

We seek the Chieftain ; on the track 30 

Keep eagle watch till I come back." 

III. 
Together up the pass they sped: 
" What of the foeman ? " Norman said. — 
" Varying reports from near and far ; 
This certain, — that a band of war 35 

Has for two days been ready boune. 
At prompt command to march from Doune ; 
King James the while, with princely powers. 
Holds revelry in Stirling towers. 
Soon will this dark and gathering cloud 40 

Speak on our glens in thunder loud. 
Inured to bide such bitter bout. 
The warrior's plaid may bear it out ; 
But, Norman, how wilt thou provide 
A shelter for thy bonny bride ? " — 45 

" What ! know ye not that Roderick's care 

36. Boune. Prepared. 

42. Inured. Hardened, accustomed. — Bide. Endure. — Bout. A con- 
flict, contest. 



110 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iv. 

To the loue isle hath caused repair 

Each maid and matron of the clan, 

And every child and aged man 

Unfit for arms ; and given his charge, 50 

Nor skiff, nor shallop, boat nor barge. 

Upon these lakes shall float at large, 

But all beside the islet moor. 

That such dear pledge may rest secure?" — 



IV. 

" 'Tis well advised, — the Chieftain's plan 55 

Bespeaks the father of his clan. 

But wherefore sleeps Sir Roderick Dhu 

Apart from all his followers true ? " 

" It is because last evening-tide 

Brian an augury hath tried, 60 

Of that dread kind which must not be 

Unless in dread extremity. 

The Taghairm called ; by which, afar, 

Our sires foresaw the events of war. 

Duncraggan's milk-white bull they slew," — 65 



60. Augury. The foi-etelling of events ; an omen. 

63. Taghairm. The Highlanders, like all inxde people, had various 
superstitious modes of inquiring into futurity. One of the most noted was the 
Taghairm mentioned in the text. A person was wrapped up in the skin of a 
newly-slain bullock, and deposited beside a waterfall, or at the bottom of 
a precipice, or in some other strange, wild, and unusual situation, where 
the scenery around him suggested nothing but objects of horror. In this 
situation he revolved in his mind the question proposed, and whatever 
was impressed upon him by his exalted imagination passed for the inspira- 
tion of the disembodied spirits who haunt the desolate recesses. — Scott. 



THE PROPHECY. Ill 



MALISE. 



" Ah ! well the gallant brute I knew ! 

The choicest of the prey we had 

When swept our merrymen Gallangad. 

His hide was snow, his horns were dark, 

His red eye glowed like fiery spark ; 70 

So fierce, so tameless, and so fleet. 

Sore did he cumber our retreat. 

And kept our stoutest kerns in awe, 

Even at the pass of Beal 'maha. 

But steep and flinty was the road, 75 

And sharp the hurrying pikeman's goad. 

And when we came to Dennan's Row 

A child might scathless stroke his brow." 



NORMAN. 

" That bull was slain ; his reeking hide 

They stretched the cataract beside, 80 

Whose waters their wild tumult toss 

Adown the black and craggy boss 

Of that huge cliff whose ample verge 

Tradition calls the Hero's Targe. 

Couched on a shelf beneath its brink, 85 

Close where the thundering torrents sink, 

73. Kerns. Foot-soldiers of the lowest rank. 

74. Beal 'maha. " The pass of the plain," on the east of Loch Lomond. 

77. Dennan's Row. A starting-place for ascending Ben Lomond. 

78. Scathless. Without harm. 
82. Boss. A protuberance. 

84. Hero's Targe. The name of a rock in the Forest of Glenfinlas by 
which a noisy cataract runs. 



112 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iv. 

Rocking beneath their headlong sway, 

And drizzled by the ceaseless spray, 

'Midst groan of rock and roar of stream, 

The wizard waits prophetic dream. 90 

Nor distant rests the Chief ; — but hush ! 

See, gliding slow through mist and bush. 

The hermit gains yon rock, and stands 

To gaze upon our slumbering bands. 

Seems he not, Malise, like a ghost, 95 

That hovers o'er a slaughtered host ? 

Or raven on the blasted oak. 

That, watching while the deer is broke. 

His morsel claims witli sullen croak ? " 

MALISE. 

" Peace ! peace ! to other than to me 100 

Thy words were evil augury ; 

But still I hold Sir Roderick's blade, 

Clan-Alpine's omen and her aid. 

Not aught that, gleaned from heaven or hell. 

Yon fiend-begotten Monk can tell. 105 

The Chieftain joins Mm, see — and now 

Together they descend the brow." 

VI. 

And, as they came, with Alpine's Lord 
The Hermit Monk held solemn word : — 

98. Broke. Quartered. Everything belonging to the chase was mat- 
ter of solemnity among our ancestors; but nothing was more so than 
the mode of cutting up, or, as it was technically called, breaking the 
slaughtered stag. The forester had his allotted portion; the hounds had 
a certain allowance; and, to make the division as general as possible, the 
very birds had their share also. — Scott. 

103. Omen. Sign of good or evil ; foreboding. 



CANTO IV. 



THE PROPHECY. 113 



" Roderick ! it is a fearful strife, no 

For man endowed with mortal life, 

Whose shroud of sentient clay can still 

Feel feverish pang and fainting chill, 

Whose eye can stare in stony trance, 

Whose hair can rouse like warrior's lance, — lis 

'Tis hard for such to view, unfurled, 

The curtain of the future world. 

Yet, witness every quaking limb, 

My sunken pulse, mine eyeballs dim. 

My soul with harrowing anguish torn, 120 

This for my Chieftain have I borne ! — 

The shapes that sought my fearful couch 

A human tongue may ne'er avouch ; 

No mortal man — save he, who, bred 

Between the living and the dead, 125 

Is gifted beyond nature's law — 

Had e'er survived to say he saw. 

At length the fateful answer came 

In characters of living flame ! 

Not spoke in word, nor blazed in scroll, 130 

But borne and branded on my soul : — 

Which spills the fokemost foeman's life, 

That party conquers in the stripe." 

112. Sentient. Having sensation or feeling; conscious. 

114. Trance. A state of insensibility to the things of this world. 

123. Avouch. Affirm. 

130. Blazed. Displayed; published. — Scroll. A roll of paper or 
parchment usually containing some writing. 

133. That party conquers in the strife. Though this be in the text 
described as a response of the Tagahirm, or Oracle of the Hide, it was 
of itself an augury frequently attended to. The fate of the battle was 
often anticipated in the imagination of the combatants, by observing 
which party first shed blood. It is said that the Highlanders under 



114 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iv. 

VII. 

" Thanks, Brian, for thy zeal and care ! 

Good is thine augury, and fair. 135 

Clan-AljDine ne'er in battle stood 

But first our broadswords tasted blood. 

A surer victim still I know, 

Self-offered to the auspicious blow : 

A spy has souglit my land this morn, — 140 

No eve shall witness his return ! 

My followers guard each pass's mouth, 

To east, to westward, and to south ; 

Red Murdoch, bribed to be his guide, 

Has charge to lead his steps aside, 145 

Till in deep path or dingle brown 

He light on those shall bring him down. — 

But see, who comes his news to show ! 

Malise ! what tidings of the foe ? " 



VIII. 

" At Doune, o'er many a spear and glaive 150 

Two Barons proud their banners wave. 

I saw the Moray's silver star. 

And marked the sable pale of Mar." 

Montrose were so deeply imbued with this notion, that, on the morning of 
the battle of Tippermoor, they murdered a defenceless herdsman, whom 
they found in the fields, merely to secure an advantage of so much con- 
sequence to their party. — Scott. 

139. Auspicious. Of good omen ; fortunate. 

150. Glaive. A broadsword. 

152-53. Moray's silver star . . . sable pale of Mar. Tlie Earls of Moray 
and Mar were supporters of the King. The shield or banner of the one 
bore a star, the other a black band going perpendicularly down the centre 
of the shield, called a pale. 



TO IV. THE PROPHECY. 115 

" By Alpine's soul, high tidings those ! 

I love to hear of worthy foes. 155 

When move they on ? " " To-morrow's noon 

Will see them here for battle bonne." 

" Then shall it see a meeting stern ! 

But, for the place, say, — couldst thou learn 

Nought of the friendly clans of Earn ? 160 

Strengthened by them, we well might bide 

The battle on Benledi's side. 

Thou couldst not ? — well ! Clan-Alpine's men 

Shall man the Trosachs' shaggy glen ; 

Within Loch Katrine's gorge we'll fight, 165 

All in our maids' and matrons' sight, 

Each for his hearth and household fire, 

Father for child, and son for sire. 

Lover for maid beloved ! — But why — 

Is it the breeze affects mine eye ? 170 

Or dost thou come, ill-omened tear ! 

A messenger of doubt or fear ? 

No ! sooner may the Saxon lance 

Unfix Benledi from his stance, 

Than doubt or terror can pierce through 175 

The unyielding heart of Roderick Dhu ! 

'Tis stubborn as his trusty targe. 

Each to his post! — all know their charge." 

The pibroch sounds, the bands advance. 

The broadswords gleam, the banners dance, 180 

Obedient to the Chieftain's glance. — 

I turn me from the martial roar. 

And seek Coir-Uriskin once more. 

160. Earn. District about Loch Earn. 
174. Stance. Station; foundation. 



116 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



IX. 



Where is the Douglas? — he is gone ; 

And Ellen sits on the gray stone 185 

Fast by the cave, and makes her moan, 

While vainly Allan's words of cheer 

Are poured on her unheeding ear. 

" He will return — dear lady, trust ! — 

With joy return ; — he will — he must. 190 

Well was it time to seek afar 

Some refuge from impending war, 

When e'en Clan Alpine's rugged swarm 

Are cowed by the approaching storm. 

I saw their boats with many a light, 195 

Floating the livelong yesternight. 

Shifting like flashes darted forth 

By the red streamers of the north ; 

I marked at morn how close they ride, 

Thick moored by the lone islet's side, 200 

Like wild ducks couching in the fen 

When stoops the hawk upon the glen. 

Since this rude race dare not abide 

The peril on the mainland side. 

Shall not thy noble father's care 205 

Some safe retreat for thee prepare ? " 

X. 

ELLEN. 

" No, Allan, no ! Pretext so kind 
My wakeful terrors could not blind. 

198. Eed streamers of the North, .\urora Borealis, or northern lights. 
201. Fen. Marsh. 



CANTO IV. THE PROPHECY. 117 

When in such tender tone, yet grave, 

Douglas a parting blessing gave, 210 

The tear that glistened in his eye 

Drowned not his purpose fixed and high. 

My soul, though feminine and weak, 

Can image his ; e'en as the lake. 

Itself disturbed by slightest stroke, 215 

Reflects the invulnerable rock. 

He hears report of battle rife. 

He deems himself the cause of strife. 

I saw him redden when the theme 

Turned, Allan, on thine idle dream 220 

Of Malcolm Grseme in fetters bound, 

Which I, thou saidst, about him wound. 

Think'st thou he trowed thine omen aught? 

O no ! 'twas apprehensive thought 

For the kind youth, — for Roderick too — 225 

Let me be just — that friend so true ; 

In danger both, and in our cause ! 

Minstrel, the Douglas dare not pause. 

Why else that solemn warning given, 

" If not on earth, we meet in heaven ! " 230 

Why else, to Cambus-kenneth's fane, 

If eve return him not again, 

Am I to hie and make me known ? 

Alas ! he goes to Scotland's throne, 

Buys his friends' safety with his own ; 235 

He goes to do — what I had done. 

Had Douglas' daughter been his son ! " 

21(). Invulnerable. That cannot be injured ; enduring. — 217. Rife. Pre- 
vailing.— 223. Trowed. Believed.— 224. Apprehensive. Fearful of danger. 
231. Cambus-kenneth's fane. An abbey near Stirling. 



118 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iv. 

XI. 

" Nay, lovely Ellen ! — dearest, nay ! 
If aught should his return delay. 
He only named yon holy fane 240 

As fitting place to meet again. 
Be sure he's safe ; and for the Graeme, — 
Heaven's blessing on his gallant name ! — 
My visioned sight may yet prove true, 
Nor bode of ill to him or you. 245 

When did my gifted dream beguile ? 
Think of the stranger at the isle. 
And think upon the harpings slow- 
That presaged this approaching woe ! 
Sooth was my prophecy of fear ; 250 

Believe it when it augurs cheer. 
Would he had left this dismal spot ! 
Ill luck still haunts a fairy grot. 
Of such a wondrous tale I know — 
Dear lady, change that look of woe, 255 

My harp was wont thy grief to cheer." 

ELLEN. 

" Well, be it as thou wilt ; I hear. 

But cannot stop the bursting tear." 

The Minstrel tried his simple art, 

But distant far was Ellen's heart. 2go 

246. Beguile. Deceive. —249. Presaged. Predicted; prophesied. 
253. Grot. Grotto; secluded place. 



CANTO IV. 



THE PROPHECY. 119 



XU. 
ALICE BRAND. 

Merry it is in the good greenwood, 

When the mavis and merle are singing, 

When the deer sweeps by, and the hounds are in cry, 
And the hunter's horn is ringing, 

" O Alice Brand, my native land 265 

Is lost for love of you ; 
And we must hold by wood and wold, 

As outlaws wont to do. 
m 
" O Alice, 'twas all for thy locks so bright, 

And 'twas all for thine eyes so blue, 270 

That on the night of our luckless flight 

Thy brother bold I slew. 

" Now must I teach to hew the beech 

The hand that held the glaive. 
For leaves to spread our lowly bed, 275 

And stakes to fence our cave. 

" And for vest of pall, thy fingers small. 

That wont on harp to stray, 
A cloak must shear from the slaughtered deer. 

To keep the cold away." 280 

" O Richard ! if my brother died, 
'Twas but a fatal chance ; 

262. Mavis. Thrush. —Merle. Blackbird. 

267. Wold. Open grassy country. 

277. Vest of pall. An outer garment of rich material. 



120 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iv. 

For darkling was the battle tried, 
And fortune sped the lance. 

" If pall and vair no more I wear, 285 

Nor thou the crimson sheen. 
As warm, we'll say, is the russet gray, 

As gay the forest-green. 

" And, Richard, if our lot be hard, 

And lost thy native land, 290 

Still Alice has her own Richard, 

And he his Alice Brand." 

XIIL ^ 

^allabt Conttmtcb. 
'Tis merry, 'tis merry, in good greenwood ; 

So blithe Lady Alice is singing ; 
On the beech's pride, and oak's brown side, 295 

Lord Richard's axe is ringing. 

Up spoke the moody Elfin King, 

Who woned within the hill, — 
Like wind in the porch of a ruined church, 

His voice was ghostly shrill. soo 

" Why sounds yon stroke on beech and oak, 

Our moonlight circle's screen? 
Or who comes here to chase the deer. 

Beloved of our Elfin Queen ? 

283. Darkling. In the dark. — 285. Vair. The fur of a small, bluish- 
gray animal resembling a polecat. Such furs were only worn by ladies of 
rank. Yonge. — 298. Woned. Dwelt. 

304. Elfin Queen. Fairies, if not positively malevolent, are capricious 
and easily offended. They are, like other proprietors of forests, peculiarly 
jealous of their rights of vert and venison. Scott. 



CANTO IV. THE PROPHECY. 121 

Or who may dare on wold to wear 305 

The fairies' fatal green ? 

" Up, Urgan, up ! to yon mortal hie, 

For thou wert christened man ; 
For cross or sign thou wilt not fly, 

For muttered word or ban. 3io 

" Lay on him the curse of the withered heart, 

The curse of the sleepless eye ; 
Till he wish and pray that his life would part, 

Nor yet find leave to die." 

XIV. 

^allab Conttnujir. 
'Tis merry, 'tis merry, in good greenwood, 3i5 

Though the birds have stilled their singing ; 
The evening blaze doth Alice raise, 

And Richard is fagots bringing. 

Up Urgan starts, that hideous dwarf. 

Before Lord Richard stands, 320 

And, as he crossed and blessed himself, 
" I fear not sign," quoth the grizzly elf, 

" That is made with bloody hands." 

But out then spoke she, Alice Brand, 

That woman void of fear, — 325 

" And if there's blood upon his hand, 
'Tis but the blood of deer." 

306. Fatal green. As the Daoine Shi', or Men of Peace, wore greeu 
habits, they were supposed to take offence when any mortals ventured to 
assume their favorite color. Indeed, from some reason, which has been, 
perhaps, originally a general superstition, ,17 reen is held in Scotland to be 
unlucky to particular tribes and counties. — Scott. 



122 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iv. 

" Now loud thou liest, thou bold of mood ! 

It cleaves unto his hand, 
The stain of thine own kindly blood, 330 

The blood of Ethert Brand." 

Then forward stepped she, Alice Brand, 

And made the holy sign, — 
" And if there's blood on Richard's hand, 

A spotless hand is mine. 335 

" And I conjure thee, demon elf. 

By Him whom demons fear, 
To show us whence thou art thyself. 

And what thine errand here ? " 

XV. 

^nllair Continucb, 
" 'Tis merry, 'tis merry, in Fairy-land, 340 

When fairy birds are singing, 
When the court doth ride by their monarch's side, 

With bit and bridle ringing : 

" And gayly shines the Fairy-land — 

But all is glistening show, 345 

Like the idle gleam that December's beam 

Can dart on ice and snow. 

" And fading, like that varied gleam, 

Is our inconstant shape. 
Who now like knight and lady seem, 350 

And now like dwarf and ape. 

330. Kindly. Kindred. — 3;5(). Conjure. Implore. 
340. Inconstant. Changeable. 



CANTO IV. THE PROPHECY. 123 

" It was between the night and day, 

When the Fairy King has power, 
That I sunk down in a sinful fray. 
And 'twixt life and death was snatched away 355 

To the joyless Elfin bower. 

" But wist I of a woman bold, 

Who thrice my brow durst sign, 
I might regain my mortal mould. 

As fair a form as thine." 360 

She crossed him once — she crossed him twice — 

That lady was so brave ; 
The fouler grew his goblin hue. 

The darker grew the cave. 

She crossed him thrice, that lady bold ; 365 

He rose beneath her hand 
The fairest knight on Scottish mould, 

Her brother, Ethert Brand ! 

Merry it is in good greenwood, 

When the mavis and merle are singing, 370 

But merrier were they in Dunfermline gray. 

When all the bells were ringing. 

XVI. 

Just as the minstrel sounds were stayed, 

A stranger climbed the steepy glade ; 

His martial step, his stately mien, 375 

His hunting-suit of Lincoln green, 

357. Wist. Knew. — 359. Mould. Form. — 367. Mould. Soil. 
371. Dunfermline. A town on the Firth of Forth; the seat of an ex- 
tensive abbey, and the residence of the kings of Scotland in early times. 



124 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iv. 

His eagle glance, remembrance claims — 

'Tis Snowdoun's Knight, 'tis James Fitz- James. 

Ellen beheld as in a dream, 

Then, starting, scarce suppressed a scream : 380 

" O stranger ! in such hour of fear 

What evil hap has brought thee here ? " 

" An evil hap how can it be 

That bids me look again on thee ? 

By promise bound, my former guide 385 

Met me betimes this morning-tide. 

And marshalled over bank and bourne 

The happy path of my return." 

" The happy path ! — what ! said he naught 

Of war, of battle to be fought, 390 

Of guarded pass ? " " No, by my faith ! 

Nor saw I aught could augur scathe." 

" O haste thee, Allan, to the kern : 

Yonder his tartans I discern ; 

Learn thou liis purpose, and conjure 395 

That he will guide the stranger sure ! — 

What prompted thee, unhappy man ? 

The meanest serf in Roderick's clan 

Had not been bribed, by love or fear, 

Unknown to him to guide thee here." 40o 

XVII. 

" Sweet Ellen, dear my life must be, 

Since it is worthy care from thee ; 

Yet life I hold but idle breath 

When love or honor's weighed with death. 

386. Betimes. Early. — 387. Bourne. Stream. 

392. Augur scathe. Predict injury. — 398. Serf. Slave. 



IV. THE PROPHECY. 125 

Then let me profit by my chance, 405 

And speak my purpose bold at once. 

I come to bear thee from a wild 

Where ne'er before such blossom smiled, 

By this soft hand to lead thee far 

From frantic scenes of feud and war. 410 

Near Bochastle my horses wait ; 

They bear us soon to Stirling gate. 

I'll place thee in a lovely bower, 

I'll guard thee like a tender flower — " 

" O hush, Sir Knight ! 'twere female art, 415 

To say I do not read thy heart ; 

Too much, before, my selfish ear 

Was idly soothed my praise to hear. 

That fatal bait hath lured thee back. 

In deathful hour o'er dangerous track ; 420 

And how, O how, can I atone 

The wreck my vanity brought on ! — 

One way remains — I'll tell him all — 

Yes ! struggling bosom, forth it shall ! 

Thou, whose light folly bears the blame, 425 

Buy thine own pardon with thy shame ! 

But first — my father is a man 

Outlawed and exiled, under ban ; 

The price of blood is on his head, 

With me 'tAvere infamy to wed. 430 

Still wouldst thou speak ? — then hear the truth ! 

Fitz-James, there is a noble youth — 

If yet he is ! — exposed for me 

And mine to dread extremity — 

410. Feud. A deadly strife between clans. 



126 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iv. 

Thou hast the secret of my heart ; 435 

Forgive, be generous, and depart ! " 

XVIII. 

Fitz-James knew every wily train 

A lady's fickle heart to gain, 

But here he knew and felt them vain. 

There shot no glance from Ellen's eye, 440 

To give her steadfast speech the lie ; 

In maiden confidence she stood. 

Though mantled in her cheek the blood, 

And told her love with such a sigh 

Of deep and hopeless agony, 445 

As death had sealed her Malcolm's doom 

And she sat sorrowing on his tomb. 

Hope vanished from Fitz-James's eye. 

But not with hope fled sympathy. 

He proffered to attend her side, 450 

As brother would a sister guide. 

" O little know'st thou Roderick's heart ! 

Safer for both we go apart. 

O haste thee, and from Allan learn 

If thou mayst trust yon wily kern." 455 

With hand upon his forehead laid, 

The conflict of his mind to shade, 

A parting step or two he made ; 

Then, as some thought had crossed his brain, 

He paused, and turned, and came again. 400 

437. Train. Persuasion or enticement. 
455. Wily. Artful, sly. 



CANTO IV. THE PROPHECY. 127 

XIX. 

" Hear, lady, yet a parting word ! — 

It chanced in fight that my poor sword 

Preserved the life of Scotland's lord. 

This ring the grateful Monarch gave. 

And bade, when I had boon to crave, 465 

To bring it back, and boldly claim 

The recompense that I would name. 

Ellen, I am no courtly lord, 

But one who lives by lance and sword, 

Whose castle is liis helm and shield, 470 

His lordship the embattled field. 

What from a prince can I demand. 

Who neither reck of state nor land ? 

Ellen, thy hand — the ring is thine ; 

Each guard and usher knows the sign. 475 

Seek thou the King without delay ; 

This signet shall secure thy way : 

And claim thy suit, whate'er it be, 

As random of his pledge to me." 

He placed the golden circlet on, 480 

Paused — kissed her hand — and then was gone. 

The aged Minstrel stood aghast, 

So hastily Fitz-James shot past. 

He joined his guide, and wending down 

The ridges of the mountain brown, 485 

Across the stream they took their way 

That joins Loch Katrine to Achray. 

405. Boon to Crave, Favor to ask. 

470. Helm. Helmet; defensive armor for the head. 

471. His lordship the embattled field. His estate the battle-field. 
473. Seek of. Mind or care for. — 477. Signet. Seal in the ring. 



128 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



XX. 



All in the Trosachs' glen was still, 

Noontide was sleeping on the hill : 

Sudden his guide whooped loud and high — 490 

" Murdoch I was that a signal cry ? " — 

He stammered fortli, " I shout to scare 

Yon raven from his dainty fare." 

He looked — he knew the raven's prey, 

His own brave steed : " Ah ! gallant gray ! 495 

For thee — for me, perchance — 'twere well 

We ne'er had seen the Trosachs' dell. — 

Murdoch, move first — but silently ; 

Whistle or whoop, and thou shalt die ! " 

Jealous and sullen on they fared, 500 

Each silent, each upon his guard. 

XXI. 

Now wound the path its dizzy ledge 

Around a precipice's edge. 

When lo ! a wasted female form, 

Blighted by wrath of sun and storm, 505 

In tattered weeds and wild array, 

Stood on a cliff beside the way, 

And glancing round her restless eye. 

Upon the wood, the rock, the sky. 

Seemed naught to mark, yet all to spy. 5io 

Her brow was wreathed with gaudy broom ; 

With gesture wild she waved a plume 

Of feathers, which the eagles fling 

To crag and cliff from dusky wing 

500. Fared. Jourueyed. — 506. Weeds. Dress. 



CANTO IV. THE PROPHECY. 129 

Such spoils her desperate step had sought, 515 

Where scarce was footing for the goat. 

The tartan plaid she first descried, 

And shrieked till all the rocks replied ; 

As loud she laughed when near they drew, 

For then the Lowland garb she knew ; 520 

And then her hands she wildly wrung. 

And then she wept, and then she sung — 

She sung ! — the voice, in better time. 

Perchance to harp or lute might chime ; 

And now, though strained and roughened, still 525 

Rung wildly sweet to dale and hill. 

XXII. 

They bid me sleep, they bid me pray. 

They say my brain is warped and wrung, — 

I cannot sleep on Highland brae, 

I cannot pray in Highland tongue. 530 

But were I now where Allan glides, 

Or heard my native Devan's tides. 

So sweetly would I rest, and pray 

That heaven would close ray wintry day ! 

'Twas thus my hair they bade me braid, 535 

They made me to the church repair ; 

It was my bridal morn they said, 

And my true love would meet me there. 

But woe betide the cruel guile 

That drowned in blood the morning smile ! 540 

531-532. Allan, Devan. Small streams tributary to the Forth. 
539. Guile. Deceit. 



130 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 

And woe betide the fairy dream ! 
I only waked to sob and scream. 



xxin. 

"Who is this maid? what means her lay? 

She hovers o'er the hollow way, 

And flutters wide her mantle gray, 545 

As the lone heron spreads his wing. 

By twilight, o'er a haunted spring," 

" 'Tis Blanche of Devan," Murdoch said, 

" A crazed and captive Lowland maid, 

Ta'en on the morn she was a bride, 550 

When Roderick forayed Devan-side. 

The gay bridegroom resistance made, 

And felt our Chief's unconquered blade. 

I marvel she is now at large. 

But oft she 'scapes from Maudlin's charge. — 555 

Hence, brain-sick fool ! " — He raised his bow : — 

" Now, if thou strik'st her but one blow, 

I'll pitch thee from the cliff as far 

As ever peasant pitched a bar ! " 

" Thanks, champion, thanks ! " the Maniac cried, 560 

And pressed her to Fitz- James's side. 

" See the gra}'^ pennons I prepare, 

To seek my true love through the air ! 

I will not lend that savage groom. 

To break liis fall, one downy plume ! 565 

No ! — deep amid disjointed stones. 

The wolves shall batten on his bones, 

551. For'ayed. Plundered. 

5C2. Pennons. Larue wing-feathers. — 567. Batten. Fatten. 



CANTO IV. 



THE PROPHECY. 131 



And then shall his detested plaid, 

By bush and brier in mid-air stayed, 

Wave forth a banner fair and free, 570 

Meet signal for their revelry." 

XXIV. 

" Hush thee, poor maiden, and be still ! " 

" O ! thou look'st kindly, and I will. 

Mine eye has dried and wasted been. 

But still it loves the Lincoln green ; 575 

And, though mine ear is all unstrung. 

Still, still it loves the Lowland tongue. 

" For O my sweet William was forester true, 
He stole poor Blanche's heart away ! 

His coat it was all of the greenwood hue, ' 580 
And so blithely he trilled the Lowland lay ! 

" It was not that I meant to tell . . . 

But thou art wise and guessest well." 

Then, in a low and broken tone. 

And hurried note, the song went on. 585 

Still on the Clansman fearfully 

She fixed her apprehensive eye. 

Then turned it on the Knight, and then 

Her look glanced wildly o'er the glen. 

XXV. 

" The toils are pitched, and the stakes are set, — 590 
Ever sing merrily, merrily ; 

578. my sweet William. The sight of the Lincoln green reminds 
Blanche of her husband, and she is led to warn the stranger of his peril. 
590. Toils. Nets, snares. 



132 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iv. 

The bows they bend, and the knives they whet, 
Hunters live so cheerily. 

" It was a stag, a stag of ten. 

Bearing its branches sturdily ; 595 

He came stately down the glen, — 

Ever sing hardily, hardily. 

" It was there he met with a wounded doe, 

She was bleeding deathfully ; 
She warned him of the toils below, 6OO 

O, so faithfully, faithfully ! 

" He had an eye, and he could heed, — 

Ever sing warily, warily ; 
He had a foot, and he could speed, — 

Hunters watch so narrowly." 605 

XXVI. 

Fitz-James's mind was passion-tossed. 

When Ellen's hints and fears were lost ; 

But Murdoch's shout suspicion wrought. 

And Blanche's song conviction brought. 

Not like a stag that spies the snare, 610 

But lion of the hunt aware. 

He waved at once his blade on high, 

" Disclose thy treachery, or die ! " 

Forth at full speed the Clansman flew, 

But in his race his bow he drew. 615 

593. Hunters live so cheerily, etc. The hunters are Clan-Alpine's 
men; the stag of ten is Fitz-James; the wounded doe is Blanche herself. 

594. Stag of ten. Stag having ten branches on his horns. 
603. Warily. Cautiously. —G08. Wrought. Worked; caused. 



CANTO IV, THE PROPHECY. 133 

The shaft just grazed Fitz-James's crest, 

And thrilled in Blanche's faded breast. — 

Murdoch of Alpine ! prove thy speed, 

For ne'er had Alpine's son such need ; 

With heart of fire, and foot of wind, 620 

The fierce avenger is behind ! 

Fate judges of the rapid strife — 

The forfeit death — the prize is life ; 

Thy kindred ambush lies before, 

Close couched upon the heathery moor ; 625 

Them couldst thou reach ! — it may not be — 

Thine ambushed kin thou ne'er shalt see, 

The fiery Saxon gains on thee ! — 

Resistless speeds the deadly thrust, 

As lightning strikes the pine to dust ; 630 

With foot and hand Fitz-James must strain 

Ere he can win his blade again. 

Bent o'er the fallen with falcon eye, 

He grimly smiled to see him die. 

Then slower wended back his way, 635 

Where the poor maiden bleeding lay. 

xxvn. 

She sat beneath the birchen tree. 

Her elbow resting on her knee ; 

She had withdrawn the fatal shaft. 

And gazed on it, and feebly laughed ; 640 

Her wreath of broom and feathers gray, 

Daggled Avith blood, beside her lay. 

623. Forfeit. Penalty; fine. — 624. Ambush. Armed men lying con- 
cealed. —642. Daggled. Spattered. 



134 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iv. 

The Knight to stanch the life-stream tried, — 

"Stranger, it is in vain ! " she cried. 

" This hour of death has given me more 645 

Of reason's power than years before ; 

For, as these ebbing veins decay, 

My frenzied visions fade away. 

A helpless injured wretch I die, 

And something tells me in thine eye 650 

That thou wert mine avenger born. 

Seest thou this tress ? — O, still I've worn 

This little tress of yellow hair, 

Through danger, frenzy, and despair ! 

It once was bright and clear as thine, 655 

But blood and tears have dimmed its shine. 

I will not tell thee when 'twas shred. 

Nor from what guiltless victim's head, — 

My brain would turn ! — but it shall wave 

Like plumage on thy helmet brave, 660 

Till sun and Avind shall bleach the stain, 

And thou wilt bring it me again. 

I waver still. — O God ! more bright 

Let reason beam her parting light ! — 

O, by thy knighthood's honored sign, 665 

And for thy life preserved by mine. 

When thou shalt see a darksome man. 

Who boasts him Chief of Alpine's Clan, 

With tartans broad and shadowy plume. 

And hand of blood, and brow of gloom, 670 

Be thy heart bold, thy weapon strong. 

And wreak poor Blanche of Devan's wrong ! — 

Gi8. Frenzied Distracted. — 657. Shred. Rent, torn. 



CANTO IV. THE PllOPHECY. 135 

They watch for thee by pass and fell . . . 
Avoid the path . . . O God ! . . . farewell." 



XXVIII. 

A kindly heart had brave Fitz-James ; 675 

Fast poured his eyes at pity's claims ; 

And now, with mingled grief and ire, 

He saw the murdered maid expire. 

" God, in my need, be my relief. 

As I wreak this on yonder Chief ! " 680 

A lock from Blanche's tresses fair 

He blended with her bridegroom's hair; 

The mingled braid in blood he dyed. 

And placed it on his bonnet-side: 

" By Him whose word is truth, I swear, 685 

No other favor will I wear. 

Till this sad token I imbrue 

In the best blood of Roderick Dhu ! — 

But hark ! what means yon faint halloo ? 

The chase is up, — but they shall know, 690 

The stag at bay's a dangerous foe." 

Barred from the known but guarded way. 

Through copse and cliffs Fitz-James must stray. 

And oft must change his desperate track. 

By stream and precipice turned back. 695 

Heartless, fatigued, and faint, at length, 

From lack of food and loss of strength. 

He couched him in a thicket hoar. 

And thought his toils and perils o'er : — 

680. Wreak. Avenge. — 686. Favor. Gift of a lady to a Knight, as 
a glove or a scarf to be worn by him. — 687. Imbrue. Drench. 



136 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iv. 

" Of all my rash adventures past, 700 

This frantic feat must prove the last ! 

Who e'er so mad but might have guessed 

That all this Highland hornet's nest 

Would muster up in swarms so soon 

As e'er they heard of bands at Doune ? — 705 

Like bloodhounds now they search me out, — 

Hark, to the whistle and the shout ! — 

If farther through the wilds I go, 

I only fall upon the foe : 

I'll couch me here till evening gray, 710 

Then darkling try my dangerous way." 

XXIX. 

The shades of eve come slowly down, 

The woods are wrapt in deeper brown, 

The owl awakens from her dell. 

The fox is heard upon the fell ; 715 

Enough remains of glimmering light 

To guide the wanderer's steps aright. 

Yet not enough from far to show 

His figure to the watchful foe. 

With cautious step and ear awake, 720 

He climbs the crag and threads the brake • 

And not the summer solstice there 

Tempered the midnight mountain air. 

But every breeze that swept the wold 

Benumbed his drenched limbs with cold. 725 

In dread, in danger, and alone. 

Famished and chilled, through ways unknown, 

722. Summer solstice. The longest day, when the heat is greatest. 



IV. THE PROPHECY. 137 

Tangled and steep, he journeyed on ; 

Till, as a rock's huge point he turned, 

A watch-fire close before him burned. 730 



XXX. 

Beside its embers red and clear, 

Basked in his plaid a mountaineer ; 

And up he sprung with sword in hand, — 

" Thy name and purpose ! Saxon, stand ! " 

"A stranger." "What dost thou require? " 735 

" Rest and a guide, and food and fire. 

My life's beset, my path is lost. 

The gale has chilled my limbs with frost." 

" Art thou a friend to Roderick ? " " No " 

" Thou dar'st not call thyself a foe ? " 740 

" I dare ! to him and all the band 

He brings to aid his murderous hand." 

" Bold words ! — but, though the beast of game 

The privilege of chase may claim, 

Though space and law the stag we lend, 745 

Ere hound we slip or bow we bend, 

Who ever recked, where, how, or when, 

The j)rowling fox was trapped or slain ? 

Thus treacherous scouts, — yet sure they lie. 

Who say thou cam'st a secret spy ! " — 750 

" They do, by heaven ! — come Roderick Dhu, 

And of his clan the boldest two. 

And let me but till morning rest, 

I write the falsehood on their crest." 

732. Basked. Lay exposed to genial heat. 
746. Slip. Let loose for the game. 



138 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto iv. 

" If by the blaze I mark aright, 755 

Thou bear'st tlie belt and spur of Knight." 
" Then by these tokens mayst thou know- 
Each proud oppressor's mortal foe." 
" Enough, enough ; sit down and share 
A soldier's couch, a soldier's fare." 7«o 

XXXI. 

He gave him of his Highland cheer, 

The hardened flesh of mountain deer ; 

Dry fuel on the fire he laid, 

And bade the Saxon share his plaid. 

He tended him like welcome guest, 765 

Then thus his further speech addressed : — 

" Stranger, I am to Roderick Dhu 

A clansman born, a kinsman true ; 

Each word against his honor spoke 

Demands of me avenging stroke ; 770 

Yet more, — upon thy fate, 'tis said, 

A mighty augury is laid. 

It rests with me to wind my horn, — 

Thou art with numbers overborne ; 

It rests with me, here, brand to brand, 775 

Worn as thou art, to bid thee stand : 

But, not for clan, nor kindred's cause, 

Will I depart from honor's laws ; 

To assail a wearied man were shame, 

And stranger is a holy name ; 780 

762. Hardened flesh. The Scottish Highlanders in former times had a 
way of iireparing their venison without cooking, by simply i>i-essing it be- 
tween two pieces of wood, so as to force out the blood and render it ex- 
tremely hard. This was considered a great delicacy. 



CANTO IV. THE PROPHECY. 139 

Guidance and rest, and food and fire, 
In vain he never must require. 
Then rest thee here till dawn of day ; 
Myself will guide thee on the v^y, 
O'er stock and stone, through watch and ward, 785 
Till past Clan-Alpine's outmost guard, 
As far as Coilantogle's ford ; 
From thence thy warrant is thy sword." 
" I take thy courtesy, by heaven. 
As freely as 'tis nobly given ! " 790 

" Well, rest thee ; for the bittern's cry 
^ Sings us the lake's wild lullaby." 
With that he shook the gathered heath. 
And spread his plaid upon the wreath ; 
And the brave foemen, side by side, 795 

Lay peaceful down like brothers tried. 
And slept until the dawning beam 
Purpled the mountain and the stream. 

785. Through watch and ward. Through the midst of those who keep 
watch by night and guard by day. 

787. Coilantogle's ford. On arriving at Coilautogle's ford, near the 
foot of Loch Vennachar, Fitz-James, having passed beyond the limits of 
the lawless Highlands, came within the district loyal to the Scottish king, 
and, therefore, needed no further protection from the Highland chief. 

788. Warrant. Safeguard. 



OUTLINE OF CANTO FIFTH. 



After a hasty morning meal the two start upon their journey, 
and the Gael's enquiries as to the knight's object in thus venturing 
in these wilds without a pass from the chief lead to an interesting 
conversation betwixt them. Fitz-James shows that Roderick's 
suspicions of a war-gathering are mistaken, but hints that his 
preparations may possibly lead to an encounter which had not 
been intended. He avows his enmity against Roderick, with 
whom he has vowed to match himself, and expresses the keenest 
desire to meet "the rebel chieftain and his band." "Have, then, 
thy wish," is the reply. His companion's shrill signal makes the 
whole hillside bristle with armed men, who have been lying concealed 
among the heather and the bracken, and the guide proclaims him- 
self the very man whom he seeks. At a fresh sign the warriors 
disappear as suddenly as they sprang to light, and the two pursue 
their course. They pass the foot of Lake Vennachar, and at last 
reach the ford, which is the limit of Roderick's protection. There 
Fitz-James must defend himself with his own sword. The Gael, 
to make the fight more equal, throws away his targe, and thus the 
science which makes the good blade both sword and shield gives 
the knight the advantage over his adversary. The latter, thrice 
severely wounded, loses his sword, but makes a final effort, and 
springs at his opponent's throat. Clasped in liis strong arms the 
knight falls under him, and the issue of the fight would have been 
changed had not Roderick turned giddy from loss of blood and 
missed his aim. Poor Blanche is thus revenged. The victor 
winds his bugle, and four attendants come galloping to the spot. 
Leaving two of them to look to the wounded man, he hastes with 
the others back to Stirling. As they come to the castle they catch 
sight of the Douglas, who comes to give himself up to the king 



OUTLINE OF CANTO FIFTH. 141 

in the hope of liberating the Grpeme, and of saving Roderick from 
a calamitous war. On his arrival he finds the town in a bustle of 
preparation for the burghers' sports, and determines to take part 
in them, and so introduce himself to the king. He proves victor 
in all that he undertakes, so that the multitude begin to suspect 
who he is ; but the king gives him the prize as to an litter stranger. 
All this he bears patiently; but when his hound, Ellen's playfellow, 
is maltreated by the king's huntsman, he can bear it no longer, and, 
with a sound cuff, stretches the offender on the ground, and pro- 
claims himself and his purpose in coming. He is carried off cap- 
tive to the castle. The people attempt a rescue, but are appeased 
by Douglas himself, and retire, though with gloomy forebodings of 
his fate. 

While the king is brooding over the fickleness of the crowd, a 
messenger comes from the Earl of Mar to warn him that Clan- 
Alpine is rising, and that he must confine his sport to guarded 
ground. The earl himseK is gone to quell the rising, and hopes 
soon to encounter the foe. James sends in all speed to stay the 
army's march, as Roderick is already a captive, and the people 
must not suffer for his crimes. But the message, as will be seen, 
comes too late. — Taylor. 



©auto l^iftlx* 



THE COMBAT. 



Fair as the earliest beam of eastern light, 

When first, by the bewildered pilgrim spied. 
It smiles upon the dreary brow of night. 

And silvers o'er the torrent's foaming tide, 
And lights the fearful path on mountain-side, — 5 

Fair as that beam, although the fairest far, 
Giving to horror grace, to danger pride. 

Shine martial Faith, and Courtesy's bright star. 
Through all the wreckful storms that cloud the 
brow of War. 

II. 

That early beam, so fair and sheen, lo 

Was twinkling through the hazel screen, 

When, rousing at its glimmer red. 

The warriors left their lowly bed. 

Looked out upon the dappled sky. 

Muttered their soldier matins by, i5 

And then awaked their fire, to steal. 

As short and rude, their soldier meal. 

That o'er, the Gael around him threw 

«. Martial. Warlike. — 14. Dappled. Spotted. -Ki. To steal their 
meal. To eat Imrriedly. — 1<S. Gael. The Highlander is called Gue?, and 
the Lowlauder tiaxon. 



THE COMBAT. 143 

His graceful plaid of varied hue, 

And, true to promise, led the way, 20 

By thicket green and mountain gray. 

A wildering path ! — they winded now 

Along tlie precipice's brow. 

Commanding the rich scenes beneath. 

The windings of the Forth and Teith, 25 

And all the vales between that lie. 

Till Stirling's turrets melt in sky ; 

Then, sunk in copse, their farthest glance 

Gained not the length of horseman's lance. 

'Twas oft so steep, the foot was fain so 

Assistance from the hand to gain ; 

So tangled oft that, bursting through. 

Each hawthorn shed her showers of dew, — 

That diamond dew, so pure and clear. 

It rivals all but Beauty's tear ! 35 

III. 
At length they came where, stern and steep. 
The hill sinks down upon the deep. 
Here Vennachar in silver flows, 
There, ridge on ridge, Benledi rose ; 
Ever the hollow path twined on, 40 

Beneath steep bank and threatening stone ; 
A hundred men might hold the post 
With hardihood against a host. 
The rugged mountain's scanty cloak 
Was dwarfish shrubs of birch and oak, 45 

With shingles bare, and cliffs between. 
And patches bright of bracken green, 

46. Shingles. Gravel. 



144 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

And heather black, that waved so high, 

It held the copse in rivalry. 

But where the lake slept deep and still, 50 

Dank osiers fringed the swamp and hill ; 

And oft both path and hill were torn, 

Where wintry torrent down had borne. 

And heaped upon the cumbered land 

Its wreck of gravel, rocks, and sand. 55 

So toilsome was the road to trace. 

The guide, abating of his pace. 

Led slowly through the pass's jaws. 

And asked Fitz-Jaraes by what strange cause 

He sought these wilds, traversed by few, 00 

Without a pass from Koderick Dhu. 

IV. 

" Brave Gael, my pass, in danger tried, 

Hangs in my belt and by my side ; 

Yet, sooth to tell," the Saxon said, 

"" I dreamt not now to claim its aid. 65 

When here, but three days since, I came. 

Bewildered in pursuit of game. 

All seemed as peaceful and as still 

As the mist slumbering on yon hill ; 

Thy dangerous Chief was then afar, 70 

Nor soon expected back from war. 

Thus said, at least, my mountain-guide. 

Though deep perchance the villain lied." 

" Yet wdiy a second venture try ? " 

" A warrior thou, and ask me why ! — 75 

51. Dank osiers. Damp willows. 



r. THE COMBAT. 145 

Moves our free course by such fixed cause 

As gives tlie poor meclianic laws? 

Enough, I sought to drive away 

The lazy hours of peaceful day ; 

Slight cause will then suffice to guide so 

A Knight's free footsteps far and wide, — 

A falcon flown, a greyhound strayed, 

The merry glance of mountain maid ; 

Or, if a path be dangerous known, 

The danger's self is lure alone." 85 



" Thy secret keep, I urge thee not ; — 

Yet, ere again ye sought this spot, 

Say, heard ye naught of Lowland war. 

Against Clan-Alpine, raised by Mar?" 

" No, by my word ; — of bands prepared 90 

To guard King James's sports I heard ; 

Nor doubt I aught, but, when they hear 

This muster of the mountaineer, 

Their pennons will abroad be flung. 

Which else in Doune had peaceful hung." 95 

" Free be they flung ! for we were loath 

Their silken folds should feast the moth. 

Free be they flung ! — as free shall wave 

Clan-Alpine's pine in banner brave. 

But, stranger, peaceful since you came, lOO 

Bewildered in the mountain-game, 

85. Lure. Enticement; that which invites by the prospect of advantage 
or pleasure. — 93. Muster. Gathering. — 94. Pennons. Flags or streamers. 
95. Doune. Note, Canto V., line 492. 



146 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

Whence the bold boast by which you show 

Vich-Alpine's vowed and mortal foe ? " 

" Warrior, but yester-morn I knew 

Naught of thy Chieftain, Roderick Dhu, 105 

Save as an outlawed, desperate man, 

The chief of a rebellious clan. 

Who, in the Regent's court and sight, 

With ruffian dagger stabbed a knight ; 

Yet this alone might from his part no 

Sever each true and loyal heart." 

VI. 

Wrathful at such arraignment foul. 

Dark lowered the clansman's sable scowl. 

A space he paused, then sternly said, 

"And heardst thou why he drew his blade? lis 

Heardst thou that shameful word and blow 

Brought Roderick's vengeance on his foe ? 

What recked the Chieftain if he stood 

On Highland heath or Holy-Rood? 

He rights such wrong where it is given, 120 

If it were in the court of heaven." 

" Still was it outrage ; — yet, 'tis true. 

Not then claimed sovereignty his due ; 

While Albany with feeble hand 

Held borrowed truncheon of command, 125 

The young King, mewed in Stirling tower, 

Was stranger to respect and power. 

112. Arraignment. Accusation. —113. Lowered. Frowned. 

110. Holy Rood. Note, Canto II., line 221. — 124. Albany. John 
Stewart, Duke of Albany, was regent or ruler during the minority of the 
king. — 125. Truncheon. Staff. — 12(). Mewed. Imprisoned. 

127. Stranger to respect and power. There is scarcely a more dis- 



CANTO V. THE COMBAT. 147 

But then, thy Chieftain's robber life ! — 
Winning mean prey by causeless strife, 
Wrenching from ruined Lowland swain iso 

His herds and harvest reared in vain, — 
Methinks a soul like thine should scorn 
The spoils from such foul foray borne.'" 

VII. 

The Gael beheld him grim the while, 

And answered with disdainful smile : 135 

" Saxon, from yonder mountain high, 

I marked thee send delighted eye 

Far to the south and east, where lay, 

Extended in succession gay. 

Deep waving fields and pastures green, 140 

With gentle slopes and groves between : — 

These fertile plains, that softened vale. 

Were once the birthright of the Gael, 

The stranger came with iron hand. 

And from our fathers reft the land. i45 

Where dwell we now ? See, rudely swell 

Crag over crag, and fell o'er fell. 

Ask we this savage hill we tread 

For fattened steer or household bread. 

Ask we for flocks these shingles dry, 15C 

And well the mountain might reply, — 

' To you, as to your sires of yore. 

Belong the target and claymore ! 

orderly period in Scottish history than that which succeeded the battle of 
Flodden, and occupied the minority of James V. Feuds of ancient stand- 
ing broke out like old wounds, and every quarrel among the independent 
nobility, which occurred daily, and almost hourly, gave rise to fresh blood- 
shed. Scott. 



148 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

I give you shelter in my breast, 

Your own good blades must win the rest.' 155 

Pent in this fortress of the North, 

Think'st thou we will not sally forth, 

To spoil the spoiler as we may. 

And from the robber rend the prey ? 

Ay, by my soul ! — While on yon plain kio 

The Saxon rears one shock of grain, 

While of ten thousand herds there strays 

But one along yon river's maze, — 

The Gael, of plain and river heir, 

Shall with strong hand redeem his share. 165 

Where live the mountain Chiefs who hold 

That plundering Lowland field and fold 

Is aught but retribution true ? 

Seek other cause 'gainst Roderick Dhu." 

VIII. 

Answered Fitz-James : " And, if I sought, 170 
Think'st thou no other could be brought ? 
What deem ye of my path waylaid? 
My life given o'er to ambuscade ? " 

156. Pent. Shut up. — Kil. Shock. A pile of sheaves or bundles of 
grain. — l(i3. Maze. Winding course. 

169. Seek other cause 'gainst Boderick Dhu. So far, indeed, was a 
Crear/h, or foray, from being held disgraceful, that a young chief was 
always expected to show his talents for command, so soon as he assumed it, 
by leading his clan on a successful enterprise of this nature, either against 
a neighboring sept, for which constant feuds usually furnished an apology, 
or against the Saxons, or Lowlaudei's, for which no apology was necessary. 
The Gael, great traditional histoi'ians, never forgot that the Lowlands liad, 
at some remote period, been the property of their Celtic forefathers, which 
furnished an ample vindication of all the ravages that they could make on 
the unfortunate districts which lay within their reach. Scott. 

173. Ambuscade. A concealed ])lace where troops lie hidden. 



CANTO V. THE COMBAT. 149 

" As of a meed to rashness due : 

Hadst thou sent warning fair and true, — 175 

I seek my hound or falcon strayed, 

I seek, good faith, a Highland maid, — 

Free hadst thou been to come and go ; 

But secret path marks secret foe. 

Nor yet for this, even as a spy, i80 

Hadst thou, unheard, been doomed to die, 

Save to fulfil an augury." 

" Well, let it pass ; nor will I now 

Fresh cause of enmity avow, 

To chafe thy mood and cloud thy brow. 185 

Enough, I am by promise tied 

To match me with this man of pride : 

Twice have I sought Clan- Alpine's glen 

In peace ; but when I come again, 

I come with banner, brand, and bow, 190 

As leader seeks his mortal foe. 

For love-lorn swain in lady's bower 

Ne'er panted for the appointed hour, 

As I, until before me stand 

This rebel Chieftain and his band ! " 195 

IX. 

" Have then thy wish ■ " — He whistled shrill. 

And he was answered from the hill ; 

Wild as the scream of the curlew. 

From crag to crag the signal flew. 

Instant, through copse and heath, arose 200 

Bonnets and spears and bended bows ; 

198. Curlew. Wading-bird frequenting the sea-shore in winter and the 
mountains in summer. 



150 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

On right, on left, above, below. 

Sprung up at once the lurking foe ; 

From shingles gray their lances start. 

The bracken bush sends forth the dart, 205 

The rushes and the willow-wand 

Are bristling into axe and brand. 

And every tuft of broom gives life 

To plaided warrior armed for strife. 

That whistle garrisoned the glen 210 

At once with full five hundred men, 

As if the yawning hill to heaven 

A subterranean host had given. 

Watching their leader's beck and will. 

All silent there they stood and stilh 215 

Like the loose crags whose threatening mass 

Lay tottering o'er the holloAv pass, 

As if an infant's touch could urge 

Their headlong passage down the verge, 

With step and weapon forward flung, 220 

LTpon the mountain-side they hung. 

The Mountaineer cast glance of pride 

Along Benledi's living side. 

Then fixed his eye and sable brow 

Full on Fitz-James : "How say'st thou now? 225 

These are Clan-Al[)ine's warriors true ; 

And, Saxon, — I am Roderick Dhu ! " 



X. 

Fitz-James was brave : — though to his heart 
Tlie life-blood thrilled with sudden start, 

210. Garrisoned. Defended. —213. Subterranean. Lying under the 
surface of the earth. —214. Beck. Nod. 



CANTO V. THE COMBAT. 151 

He manned himself with dauntless air, 230 

Returned the Chief his haughty stare, 

His back against a rock he bore. 

And firmly placed his foot before : — 

"Come one, come all! this rock shall fly 

From its firm base as soon as I." 235 

Sir Roderick marked, — and in his eyes 

Respect was mingled with surprise, 

And the stern joy which warriors feel 

In foeman worthy of their steel. 

Short space he stood — then waved his hand: 240 

Down sunk the disappearing band ; 

Each warrior vanished where he stood. 

In broom or bracken, heath or wood ; 

Sunk brand and spear and bended bow. 

In osiers jiale and copses low ; 245 

It seemed as if their motlier Earth 

Had swallowed up her warlike birth. 

The wind's last breath had tossed in air 

Pennon and plaid and plumage fair, — 

The next but swept a lone hill-side, 250 

Where heath and fern were waving wdde : 

The sun's last glance was glinted back 

From spear and glaive, from targe and jack, — 

The next, all unreflected, shone 

On bracken green and cold gray stone. 255 

xr. 

Fitz-James looked round, — yet scarce believed 

The witness that his sight received ; 

252. Glinted. Flashed. —253. rrom targe and jack. From shield 
and coat of armor. The peasant's coat of armor was a leathern jacket. 



152 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

Such apparition well might seem 

Delusion of a dreadful dream. 

Sir Roderick in suspense he eyed, 260 

And to his look the Chief replied : 

" Fear naught — nay, that I need not say — 

But — doubt not aught from mine array. 

Thou art my guest ; — I pledged my word 

As far as Coilantogle ford : 265 

Nor would I call a clansman's brand 

For aid against one valiant hand, 

Though on our strife lay every vale 

Rent by the Saxon from the Gael. 

So move we on; — I only meant 270 

To show the reed on which you leant, 

Deeming this path you might pursue 

Without a pass from Roderick Dhu." 

They moved ; — I said Fitz-James was brave 

As ever knight that belted glaive, 275 

Yet dare not say that now his blood 

Kept on its wont and tempered flood, 

As, following Roderick's stride, he drew 

That seeming lonesome pathway through. 

Which yet by fearful proof was rife 280 

With lances, that, to take his life, 

Waited but signal from a guide. 

So late dishonored and defied. 

258. Apparition. Sudden appearance. — 250. Delusion. Deception. 

260. Suspense. Dread uncertainty. 

273. Without a pass from Roderick Dhu. This incident, like some 
other passages in the poem, iUustrative of the character of the ancient 
Gael, is not imaginary, but borrowed from fact. The Highlanders, with 
the inconsistency of most nations in the same state, were alternately capable 
of great exertions of generosity, and of cruel revenge and perfidy. Scott. 



THE COMBAT. 153 

Ever, by stealth, his eye sought round 

The vanished guardians of tlie ground, 285 

And still from copse and heather deep 

Fancy saw spear and broadsword peep, 

And in the plover's shrilly strain 

The signal whistle heard again. 

Nor breathed he free till far behind 290 

The pass was left ; for then they wind 

Along a wide and level green, 

Where neither tree nor tuft was seen, 

Nor rush nor bush of broom was near, 

To hide a bonnet or a spear. 295 



XII. 

The Chief in silence strode before, 

And reached that torrent's sounding shore. 

Which, daughter of three mighty lakes, 

From Vennachar in silver breaks, 

Sweeps through tlie plain, and ceaseless mines 300 

On Bochastle the mouldering lines. 

Where Rome, the Empress of the world. 

Of yore her eagle wings unfurled. 

And here liis course the Chieftain stayed, 

288. Plover. A bird frequeuting the sea-shore and banks of rivers. 

298. Three mighty lakes. Katrine, Achray, and Vennachar. 

301. Bochastle. The torrent which discharges itself from Loch Ven- 
nachar, the lowest and eastraost of the three lakes which form the scenery 
adjoining to the Trosachs, sweeps throngh a Hat and extensive moor called 
Bochastle. Upon a small eminence called the Dun of Bochastle, and, in- 
deed, on the plain itself, are some intrenchments which have been thought 
Roman. Scott. 

303. Eagle v^rings unfurled. The eagle was the principal standard of 
the Roman army. 



154 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

Threw down his target and his plaid, 305 

And to the Lowland warrior said : 

" Bold Saxon I to his promise just, 

Vich-Alpine has discharged his trust. 

This murderous Chief, this ruthless man, 

This head of a rebellious clan, 310 

Hath led thee safe, through watch and ward, 

Far past Clan- Alpine's outmost guard. 

Now, man to man, and steel to steel, 

A Chieftain's vengeance thou shalt feel. 

See, here all vantageless I stijnd, 315 

Armed like thyself with single brand ; 

For this is Coilantogie ford. 

And thou must keep thee with thy sword." 

XIII. 

The Saxon paused : " I ne'er delayed. 

When foeman bade me draw my blade ; 320 

Nay more, brave Chief, I vowed thy death ; 

Yet sure thy fair and generous faith. 

And my deep debt for life preserved, 

A better meed have well deserved : 

Can naught but blood or feud atone ? 325 

Are there no means ? " — " No, stranger, none ! 

And hear, — to fire thy flagging zeal, — 

The Saxon cause rests on thy steel; 

For thus spoke Fate by prophet bred 

Between the living and the dead : 330 

'Who spills the foremost foeman's life, 

His party conquers in the strife.' " 

" Then, by my word," the Saxon said, 

" The riddle is already read. 



^NTO V. THE COxMBAT. 165 

Seek yonder brake beneath the cliff, — 335 

There lies Red Murdoch, stark and stiff. 

Thus Fate hath solved her prophecy ; 

Then yield to Fate, and not to me. 

To James at Stirling let us go, 

When, if thou wilt be still his foe, 340 

Or if the King shall not agree 

To grant thee grace and favor free, 

I plight mine honor, oath, and word 

That, to thy native strengths restored, 

With each advantage shalt thou stand 345 

That aids thee now to guard thy land." 

XIV. 
Dark lightning flashed from Roderick's eye : 
'' Soars thy presumption, then, so high. 
Because a wretched kern ye slew. 
Homage to name to Roderick Dhu ? 350 

He yields not, he, to man nor Fate ! 
Thou add'st but fuel to my hate ; — 
My clansman's blood demands revenge. 
Not yet prepared ? — By heaven, I change 
My thought, and hold thy valor light 355 

As that of some vain carpet knight, 
Who ill deserved my courteous care. 
And whose best boast is but to wear 
A braid of his fair lady's hair." 
" I thank thee, Roderick, for the word ! 360 

It nerves my heart, it steels my sword ; 

350. Homage. Deference, submission. 

356. Carpet knight. One who wins his honors in royal halls by 
favoritism rather than by bravery on the battle-field. 



15G THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

For I have sworn this braid to stain 

In the best blood that warms thy vein. 

Now, truce, farewell ! and, ruth, begone ! — 

Yet think not that by thee alone, 365 

Proud Chief ! can courtesy be shown ; 

Though not from copse, or heath, or cairn. 

Start at my whistle clansmen stern. 

Of this small horn one feeble blast 

Would fearful odds against thee cast. 370 

But fear not — doubt not — which thou wilt — 

We try this quarrel hilt to hilt." 

Then each at once his falchion drew. 

Each on the ground his scabbard threw, 

Each looked to sun and stream and plain 375 

As what they ne'er might see again ; 

Then foot and point and eye opposed, 

In dubious strife they darkly closed. 

XV. 

Ill fared it then with Roderick Dhu, 

That on the field his targe he threw, 380 

Whose brazen studs and tough bull-hide 

Had death so often dashed aside ; 

For, trained abroad his arms to wield, 

Fitz-James's blade was sword and shield. 

He practised every pass and ward, 385 

To thrust, to strike, to feint, to guard ; 

364. Truce. Temporary cessation of hostilities. — Buth. Pity. 

3S0. His targe he threw, etc. A round target of light wood, covered 
with strong leather, and stvidded with brass or iron, was a necessary part 
of a Highlander's equipment. In charging regular troops, they received 
the thrust of the bayonet in this buckler, twisted it aside, and used the 
broadsword against the encumbered soldier. Scott. 

386. Feint. To pretend an attack. 



THE COMBAT. 157 

While less expert, though stronger far, 

The Gael raaintained unequal war. 

Three times in closing strife they stood. 

And thrice the Saxon blade drank blood ; auo 

No stinted draught, no scanty tide, 

The gushing flood the tartans dyed. 

Fierce Roderick felt the fatal draui, 

And showered his blows like wintry rain ; 

And, as firm rock or castle-roof 395 

Against the winter shower is proof, 

The foe, invulnerable still. 

Foiled his wild rage by steady skill ; 

Till, at advantage ta'en, his brand 

Forced Roderick's weapon from his hand, wo 

And backward borne upon the lea. 

Brought the proud Chieftain to his knee. 

XVI. 

" Now yield thee, or by Him who made 

The world, thy heart's blood dies my blade ! '" 

" Thy threats, thy mercy, I defy ! 405 

Let recreant yield, who fears to die." 

Like adder darting from his coil. 

Like wolf that dashes through the toil. 

Like mountain-cat who guards her young. 

Full at Fitz-James's throat he sprung ; 4io 

Received, but recked not of a wound, 

And locked his arms his foeman round. — 

Now, gallant Saxon, hold thine own ! 

No maiden's hand is round thee thrown! 

406. Recreant. A cowardly wretch. 



158 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

That desperate grasp thy frame might feel 4i5 

Through bars of brass and triple steel ! 

They tug, they strain ! down, down they go, 

The Gael above, Fitz-James below. 

The Cliieftain's gripe his throat compressed, 

His knee was planted on his breast ; 420 

His clotted locks he backward threw, 

Across his brow his hand he drew. 

From blood and mist to clear his sight. 

Then gleamed aloft his dagger bright ! 

But hate and fury ill supplied 425 

The stream of life's exhausted tide, 

And all too late the advantage came, 

To turn the odds of deadly game ; 

For, while the dagger gleamed on high, 

Reeled soul and sense, reeled brain and eye. 430 

Down came the blow ! but in the heath 

The erring blade found bloodless sheath. 

The struggling foe may now unclasp 

The fainting Chief's relaxing grasp ; 

Unwounded from the dreadful close, 435 

But breathless all, Fitz-James arose. 

XVII. 

He faltered thanks to Heaven for life. 

Redeemed, unhoped, from desperate strife ; 

Next on his foe his look he cast, 

Whose every gasp appeared his last ; 440 

In Roderick's gore he dipped the braid, — 

" Poor Blanche ! thy wrongs are dearly paid ; 

416. Triple steel. Three-fold armor. — 435. Close. Grapple. 



V. THE COMBAT. 159 

Yet with thy foe must die or live 

The praise that faith and valor give." 

With that he blew a bugle note, 445 

Undid the collar from his throat, 

Unbonneted, and by the wave 

Sat down his brow and hands to lave. 

Then faint afar are heard the feet 

Of rushing steeds in gallop fleet ; 450 

The sounds increase, and now are seen 

Four mounted squires in Lincoln green ; 

Two who bear lance, and two who lead 

By loosened rein a saddled steed; 

Each onward held his headlong course, 455 

And by Fitz-James reined up his horse, — 

With wonder viewed the bloody spot, — 

" Exclaim not, gallants ! question not. — 

You, Herbert and Luffness, alight. 

And bind the wounds of yonder knight ; 460 

Let the gray palfrey bear his weight. 

We destined for a fairer freight, 

And bring him on to Stirling straight ; 

I will before at better speed. 

To seek fresh horse and fitting weed. 465 

The sun rides high ; — I must be boune 

To see the archer-game at noon ; 

But lightly Bayard clears the lea. — 

De Yaux and Herries, follow me. 

458. Gallants. Brave men. 

461. Palfrey. A small saddle-horse for ladies' use. 

406. Boune. Ready. 



160 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



XVIII. 



"Stand, Bayard, stand!" — the steed obeyed, 470 

With arching neck and bended head, 

And glancing eye and qnivering ear, 

As if he loved his lord to hear. 

No foot Fitz-James in stirrup stayed. 

No grasp upon the saddle laid, 475 

But wreathed his left hand in the mane, 

And lightly bounded from the plain. 

Turned on the horse his armed heel, 

And stirred his courage with the steel. 

Bounded the fiery steed in air, 480 

The rider sat erect and fair, 

Then like a bolt from steel crossbow 

Forth launched, along the plain they go. 

They dashed that rapid torrent through. 

And up Carhonie's hill they flew ; 485 

Still at the gallop pricked the Knight, 

His merrymen followed as they might. 

Along thy banks, swift Teith ! they ride, 

And in the race they mock thy tide ; 

Torry and Lendrick now are past, 490 

And Deanstown lies behind them cast ; 

They rise, the bannered towers of Doune, 

They sink in distant woodland soon ; 

486. Pricked. Spin-red or rode. 

490-497. Torry, Lendrick, Dernstown, Blair-Drummond, Ochtertyre, 
and Kier lie on the banks of the Teith, and were all familiar to Scott in 
his early years. 

492. The bannered towers of Doune. The ruins of Doune Castle, 
formerly the residence of the Karls of Menteith, now the i^roperty of 
the Earl of Moray, are situated at the confluence of the Ardoch and the 
Teith. Scott. 



CANTO V. THE COMBAT. 161 

Blair-Drummond sees the hoofs strike fire, 

They sweep like breeze through Ochtertyre ; 495 

They mark just glance and disappear 

The lofty brow of ancient Kier ; 

They bathe their coursers' sweltering sides, 

Dark Forth ! amid thy sluggish tides, 

And on the opposing shore take ground, soo 

With plash, with scramble, and with bound. 

Right-hand they leave thy cliffs, Craig-Forth ! 

And soon the bulwark of the North, 

Gray Stirling, with her towers and town, 

Upon their fleet career looked down. 505 

XIX. 

As up the flinty path they strained. 

Sudden his steed the leader reined ; 

A signal to his squire he flung. 

Who instant to his stirrup sprung : — 

" Seest thou, De Vaux, yon woodsman gray, sio 

Who town ward holds the rocky way, 

Of stature tall and poor array? 

Mark'st thou the firm, yet active stride. 

With which he scales the mountain-side ? 

Know'st thou from whence he comes, or whom?" 5i5 

" No, by my word ; — a burly groom 

He seems, who in the field or chase 

A baron's train would nobly grace — " 

" Out, out, De Vaux ! can fear supply, 

And jealousy, no sharper eye ? 520 

504. Stirling. This castle was one of the principal fortresses of Scot- 
laud, and the residence of James A'. Standing npou a lofty rock, it com- 
mands a line view of the surrounding country and Firth of Forth. 



162 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto t. 

Afar, ere to the hill he drew, 

That stately form and step I knew; 

Like form in Scotland is not seen. 

Treads not such step on Scottish green. 

'Tis James of Douglas, by Saint Serle ! 525 

The uncle of the banished Earl. 

Away, away, to court, to show 

The near approach of dreaded foe : 

The King must stand upon his guard; 

Douglas and he must meet prepared." 530 

Then right-hand wheeled their steeds, and straight 

They won the Castle's postern gate. 



XX. 

The Douglas, who had bent his way 

From Cambus-kenneth's abbey gray, 

Now, as he climbed the rocky shelf, 535 

Held sad communion with himself : — 

" Yes ! all is true my fears could frame ; 

A prisoner lies the noble Grseme, 

And fiery Roderick soon will feel 

The vengeance of the royal steel. 540 

I, only I, can ward their fate, — 

God grant the ransom come not late ! 

The Abbess hath her promise given. 

My child shall be the bride of Heaven ; — 

Be pardoned one repining tear ! 545 

For He who gave her knows how dear, 

532. Postern gate. Back gate. 

544. Bride of Heaven. One whose life is wholly devoted to the 
church. 



CANTO V. THE COMBAT. 163 

How excellent ! — but that is by, 

And now my business is — to die. — 

Ye towers ! within whose circuit dread 

A Douglas by his sovereign bled ; 550 

And thou, O sad and fatal mound ! 

That oft hast heard the death-axe sound, 

As on the noblest of the land 

Fell the stern headsman's bloody hand, — 

The dungeon, block, and nameless tomb 555 

Prepare — for Douglas seeks his doom ! 

But hark ! what blithe and jolly peal 

Makes the Franciscan steeple reel? 

And see ! upon the crowded street, 

In motley groups what masquers meet ! 560 

Banner and pageant, pipe and drum, 

And merry morrice-clancers come. 

I guess, by all this quaint array, 

The burghers hold their sports to-day. 

647. By. Past. 

550. Douglas. The fate of William, eighth Earl of Douglas, whom 
James II. stabbed iu Stirling Castle with his own hand, and while under 
his royal safe conduct, is familiar to all who read Scottish liistory. Scott. 

551. sad and fatal mound. An eminence on the north-east of the 
Stirling Castle where state criminals were executed. Stirling was often 
polluted with noble blood. Scott. 

558. Franciscan. A Roman Catholic order founded by St. Francis on 
the principle of poverty. He held that neither the individual nor an insti- 
tution should acquire or hold any right of property. — 5(j0. Motley. Made 
up of various kinds. — Masquers. Players disguised in masks. 

562. Morrice-dancers. Performers of a Moorish dance, a popular 
amusement of the day, in which all classes of society joined. The actors, 
personating certain characters, as Friar Tuck, Robin Hood, etc., were dis- 
guised in curious vestments of fawn-colored silk in the form of a tunic, 
with trappings of green and red satin, and wore bells around their ankles, 
with which they kept time to the music. See note. Canto V., line 615. 

bCr,. Quaint. Odd and fanciful. 

564. The burghers hold their sports to-day. Every burgh of Scotland 



164 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

James will be there ; he loves sucli show, 565 

Where the good yeoman bends his bow. 

And the tough wrestler foils his foe, 

As well as where, in proud career, 

The high-born tilter shivers spear. 

I'll follow to the Castle-park, 570 

And j)lay my prize ; — King James shall mark 

If age has tamed these sinews stark, 

Whose force so oft in happier days 

His boyish wonder loved to praise." 

XXI. 

The Castle gates were open flung, 575 

The quivering drawbridge rocked and rung, 

And echoed loud the flinty street 

Beneath the coursers' clattering feet, 

As slowly down the steep descent 

Fair Scotland's King and nobles went, 580 

While all along the crowded way 

Was jubilee and loud huzza. 

And ever James was bending low 

To his white jennet's saddle-bow, 

of the least note, but more especially the considerable towns, had their 
solemn p?«v/, or festival, when feats of archery were exhibited, and prizes 
distributed to those who excelled in wrestling, liurling the bar, and the 
other gymnastic exercises of the period. Stirling, a usual place of royal 
residence, was not likely to be deficient in pomp upon such occasions, 
especially since James V. was very partial to them. His ready participa- 
tion in these popular amusements was one cause of his acquiring the title 
of King of the Commons. — Scott. 

5G(j. Yeoman. A countryman; in England, next in order of rank to 
the gentry. The term is also applied to a member of the King's guard. 

noo. Tilter. One using the lance on horseback. 

571. Stark. Strong, rugged. —.575. Castle. Stirling. Note, Canto V., 
line 504. — 584. Jennet. A small Spanish horse. 



C3ANTO V. THE COMBAT. 165 

Doffing his cap to city dame, 585 

Who smiled and blushed for pride and shame. 

And well the simperer miglit be vain, — 

He chose the fairest of the train. 

Gravely he greets each city sire, 

Commends each pageant's quaint attire, 590 

Gives to the dancers thanks aloud, 

And smiles and nods upon the crowd. 

Who rend the heavens with their acclaims, — 

" Long live the Commons' King, King James ! " 

Behind the King thronged peer and knight, 595 

And noble dame and damsel bright. 

Whose fiery steeds ill brooked the stay 

Of the steep street and crowded way. 

But in the train you might discern 

Dark lowering brow and visage stern ; goo 

There nobles mourned their pride restrained. 

And the mean burgher's joys disdained ; 

And chiefs, who, hostage for their clan. 

Were each from home a banished man. 

There thought upon their own gray tower, 605 

Their waving woods, their feudal power. 

And deemed themselves a shameful part 

Of pageant which they cursed in heart. 

585. Doffing. Taking off. 

594. Commons' King. So called because he favored the common people 
as opposed to the nobles. 

603. Hostage. A person given as security for the performance of the 
conditions of a treaty. 

606. Feudal power. Power to command the services of tenants or 
vassals in case of war. 



166 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

XXII. 
Now, in the Ctastle-park, drew out 
Their checkered bands the jo3^ous rout. 6io 

There niorricers, with bell at heel 
And blade in hand, their mazes wheel ; 
But chief, beside the butts, there stand 
Bold Robin Hood and all his band, — 
Friar Tuck with quarterstaff and cowl, Gio 

Old Scathelocke with his surly scowl. 
Maid Marian, fair as ivory bone. 
Scarlet, and Mutch, and Little John ; 
Their bugles challenge all that will. 
In archery to prove their skill. 620 

The Douglas bent a bow of might, — 
His first shaft centred in tlie white, 
And when in turn he shot again. 
His second split the first in twain. 
From the King's hand must Douglas take G25 

A silver dart, the archers' stake ; 
Fondly he watched, with watery eye. 
Some answering glance of sympathy, — 
No kind emotion made reply ! 
Indifferent as to archer wight, 630 

The monarch gave the arrow bright. 

CIO. Checkered bands. Companies of players iu gay dresses. — Bout. 
Noisy crowd.— f)!:?. Butts. Targets. 

614. Kobin Hood. A noted robber or outlaw in the reign of Richard I., 
about the year llilO. The exhibition of this renowned outlaw and his band 
was a favorite frolic at festivals in wliich kings did not disdain to bo actors. 

(51.5-18. Friar Tuck, Scathelocke, Maid Marian, Scarlet, Mutch, and 
Little John were companions of Itobin Hood, renowned in ballad, and 
mentioned in Scott's /''OH/ioc. — Quarterstaff. A stout staff used as a 
weapon of defence. — Cowl. A monk's hood. 

630. Archer wight. Common archer. 



THE COMBAT. 167 

XXIIT. 

Now, clear the ring ! for, hand to hand. 

The manly wrestlers take their stand. 

Two o'er the rest superior rose, 

And proud demanded mightier foes, — 635 

Nor called in vain, for Douglas came. — 

For life is Hugh of Larbert lame ; 

Scarce better John of Alloa's fare, 

Whom senseless home his comrades bare. 

Prize of the wi-estling match, the King 640 

To Douglas gave a golden ring, 

While coldly glanced liis eye of blue, 

As frozen drop of wintry dew. 

Douglas would speak, but in his breast 

His struggling soul his words suppressed ; 645 

Indignant then he turned him where 

Their arms the brawny yeomen bare, 

To hurl the massive bar in air. 

When each his utmost strength had shown. 

The Douglas rent an earth-fast stone 650 

From its deep bed, then heaved it high. 

And sent the fragment through the sky 

A rood beyond the farthest mark ; 

And still in Stirling's royal park. 

The gray-haired sires, who know the past, 655 

To strangers point the Douglas cast, 

And moralize on the decay 

Of Scottish strength in modern day. 

647. Brawny. Siuewy, strong. 



168 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

XXIV. 

The vale with loud applauses rang, 

The Ladies' Rock sent back the clans'. 660 

The King, with look unmoved, bestowed 

A purse well filled with pieces broad. 

Indignant smiled the Douglas proud, 

And threw the gold among the crowd, 

Who now with anxious wonder scan, 665 

And sharper glance, the dark gray man; 

Till whispers rose among the throng, 

That heart so free, and hand so strong. 

Must to the Douglas blood belong. 

The old men marked and shook the head, 670 

To see his hair with silver spread, 

And winked aside, and told each son 

Of feats upon the English done. 

Ere Douglas of the stalwart hand 

Was exiled from his native land. 675 

The women praised his stately form. 

Though wrecked by many a winter's storm ; 

The youth with awe and wonder saw 

His strength surpassing Nature's law. 

Thus judged, as is their wont, the crowd, 680 

Till murmurs rose to clamors loud. 

But not a glance from that proud ring 

Of peers who circled round the King 

With Douglas held communion kind. 

Or called the banished man to mind ; 685 

No, not from those who at the chase 

Once held his side the lionored place, 

660. Tlie Ladies' Eock. The ladies' staud for viewing the sports. 
674. Stalwart. Strons- 



CANTO V. THE COMBAT. 169 

Begirt his board, and in the field 

Found safety underneath his shield ; 

For he whom royal eyes disown, 690 

When was his form to courtiers known ! 

XXV. 

The Monarch saw the gambols flag. 

And bade let loose a gallant stag. 

Whose pride, the holiday to crown. 

Two favorite greyhounds should pull down, 695 

That venison free and Bourdeaux wine 

Might serve the archery to dine. 

But Lufra, — whom from Douglas' side 

Nor bribe nor threat could e'er divide, 

The fleetest hound in all the North, — 700 

Brave Lufra saw, and darted forth. 

She left the royal hounds midway, 

And dashing on the antlered prey, 

Sunk her sharp muzzle in his flank, 

And deep the flowing life-blood drank. 705 

The King's stout huntsman saw the sport 

By strange intruder broken short. 

Came up, and with his leash unbound 

In anger struck the noble hound. 

The Douglas had endured, that morn, 7io 

The King's cold look, the nobles' scorn, 

And last, and worst to spirit proud, 

Had borne the pity of the crowd ; 

But Lufra had been fondly bred, 

To share his board, to watch his bed, 715 

708. Leash. A thong of leather, or long line, by which a hunter holds 
his dog. 



170 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

And oft would Ellen Liifra's neck 

111 maiden glee with garlands deck ; 

They were such playmates that with name 

Of Lufra Ellen's image came. 

His stifled wrath is brimming high, 720 

In darkened brow and flashing eye ; 

As waves before the bark divide, 

The crowd gave way before his stride ; 

Needs but a buftet and no more, 

The groom lies senseless in his gore. 725 

Such blow no other hand could deal, 

Though gauntleted in glove of steel. 

XXVI. 

Then clamored loud the royal train. 

And brandished swords and staves amain, 

But stern the Baron's warning: "Back! 730 

Back, on your lives, ye menial pack ! 

Beware the Douglas. — Yes ! behold. 

King James ! The Douglas, doomed of old, 

And vainly sought for near and far, 

A victim to atone the war, 735 

A willing victim, now attends, 

Nor craves thy grace but for his friends." — 

"Thus is my clemency repaid? 

Presumptuous Lord ! " the Monarch said : 

" Of thy misproud ambitious clan, 740 

Thou, James of Bothwell, wert the man, 

The only man, in whom a foe 

My woman-mercy would not know ; 

724. Buffet. A blow with the hand; a cuff. 

738. Clemency. Mercy. — 740. Misproud. Mistakenly proud. 



CANTO V. THE COMBAT. 171 

But shall a Monarch's presence brook 

Injurious blow and haughty look ? — 745 

What ho ! the Captain of our Guard ! 

Give the offender fitting ward. — 

Break off the sports ! " — for tumult rose, 

And yeomen 'gan to bend their bows, — 

" Break off' the sports ! " he said and frowned, 750 

" And bid our horsemen clear the ground." 

XXVII. 

Then uproar wild and misarray 

Marred the fair form of festal day. 

The horsemen pricked among the crowd, 

Repelled by threats and insult loud; 755 

To earth are borne the old and weak. 

The timorous fly, the women shriek ; 

With flint, with shaft, with staff, with bar, 

The hardier urge tumultuous war. 

At once round Douglas darkly sweep 760 

The royal spears in circle deep, 

And slowly scale the pathway steep. 

While on the rear in thunder pour 

The rabble with disordered roar. 

With grief the noble Douglas saw 765 

The Commons rise against the law. 

And to the leading soldier said : 

"Sir John of Hyndford, 'twas my blade 

That knighthood on thy shoulder laid ; 

747. Fitting ward. Suitable confinement under guard. 

769. Knightliood. This degree was conferred with a stroke of the flat 
part of a sword upon the slioulder by the prince or his representative. See 
note, Canto I., line 18. 



172 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

For that good deed permit me then 770 

A word with these misguided men. — 



XXVIII. 

" Hear, gentle friends, ere yet for me 

Ye break the bands of fealty. 

My life, my honor, and my cause, 

I tender free to Scotland's laws. 775 

Are these so weak as must require 

The aid of your misguided ire ? 

Or if I suffer causeless wrong, 

Is then my selfish rage so strong, 

My sense of public weal so low, 780 

That, for mean vengeance on a foe, 

Those cords of love I should unbind 

Which knit my country and my kind ? 

O no ! Believe, in yonder tower 

It will not soothe my captive hour, 785 

To know those spears our foes should dread 

For me in kindred gore are red : 

To know, in fruitless brawl begun, 

For me that mother wails her son, 

For me that widow's mate expires, 790 

For me that orphans weep their sires, 

That patriots mourn insulted laws. 

And curse the Douglas for the cause. 

O let your patience ward such ill. 

And keep your right to love me still ! " 795 

773. Fealty. Loyalty. 



CANTO V. THE COMBAT. 173 

XXIX. 

The crowd's wild fury sunk again 

In tears, as tempests melt in rain. 

With lifted hands and eyes, they prayed 

For blessings on his generous head 

Who for his country felt alone, 800 

And prized her blood beyond his own. 

Old men upon the verge of life 

Blessed him who stayed the civil strife ; 

And mothers held their babes on high, 

The self-devoted Chief to spy, 805 

Triumphant over wrongs and ire, 

To whom the prattlers owed a sire. 

Even the rough soldier's heart was moved ; 

As if behind some bier beloved. 

With trailing arms and drooping head, 8io 

The Douglas up the hill he led. 

And at the Castle's battled verge. 

With sighs resigned his honored charge. 

XXX. 

The offended Monarch rode apart. 

With bitter thought and swelling heart, 8i5 

And would not now vouchsafe again 

Through Stirling streets to lead his train. 

" O Lennox, who would wish to rule 

This changeling crowd, this common fool? 

Hear'st thou," he said, " the loud acclaim 820 

With which they shout the Douglas name ? 

810. Trailing arms. Carrying a gun in an oblique position, pointing 
forward with the breech near the ground. 

812. Battled Verge. See note, Canto I., line 199. 



174 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

With like acclaim the vulgar throat 

Strained for King James their morning note ; 

With like acclaim they hailed the day 

When first I broke the Douglas sway ; 825 

And like acclaim would Douglas greet 

If he could hurl me from my seat. 

Who o'er the herd would wish to reign, 

Fantastic, fickle, fierce, and vain ? 

Vain as the leaf upon the stream, 830 

And fickle as a changeful dream ; 

Fantastic as a woman's mood, 

And fierce as Frenzy's fevered blood. 

Thou many-headed monster-thing, 

who would wish to be thy king ? — . 835 

XXXI. 

" But soft ! what messenger of speed 
Spurs hitherward his panting steed ? 

1 guess his cognizance afar — 

What from our cousin, John of Mar?" 

" He prays, my liege, your sports keep bound 840 

Within the safe and guarded ground ; 

For some foul purpose yet unknown, — 

Most sure for evil to the throne, — 

The outlawed Chieftain, Roderick Dhu, 

Has summoned his rebellious crew ; 845 

'Tis said, in James of Bothwell's aid 

These loose banditti stand arrayed. 

The Earl of Mar this morn from Doune 

To break their nuister marched, and soon 

838. Cognizance. A l)a(I,i;'c by which a kiii.i;ht in armor could be recog- 
nized. — 847. Banditti. Robbers. 



THE COMBAT. 175 

Your Grace will hear of battle fought ; 850 

But earnestly the Earl besought, 
Till for such danger he provide, 
With scanty train you will not ride." 

XXXII. 

" Thou warn'st me I have done amiss, — 

I should have earlier looked to this; 855 

I lost it in this bustling day. — 

Retrace with speed thy former way ; 

Spare not for spoiling of thy steed, 

The best of mine shall be thy meed. 

Say to our faithful Lord of Mar, 860 

We do forbid the intended war ; 

Roderick this morn in single light 

Was made our prisoner by a knight. 

And Douglas hath himself and cause 

Submitted to our kingdom's laws. 865 

The tidings of their leaders lost 

Will soon dissolve the mountain host. 

Nor would we that the vulgar feel, 

For their Chief's crimes, avenging steel. 

Bear Mar our message, Braco, fly ! 870 

He turned his steed, — " My liege, I hie, 

Yet ere I cross this lily lawn 

I fear the broadswords will be drawn." 

The turf the flying courser spurned. 

And to his towers the King returned. 875 

868. Vulgar. Common people. 



176 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto v. 

XXXIII. 

Ill with King James's mood that day 

Suited gay feast and minstrel lay ; 

Soon were dismissed the courtly throng, 

And soon cut short the festal song. 

Nor less upon the saddened town 88o 

The evening sunk in sorrow down. 

The burghers spoke of civil jar, 

Of rumored feuds and mountain war. 

Of Moray, Mar, and Roderick Dhu, 

All up in arms ; — the Douglas too, 885 

They mourned him pent within the hold, 

" Where stout Earl William was of old." — 

And there his word the speaker stayed, 

And finger on his lip he laid, 

Or pointed to his dagger blade. 890 

But jaded horsemen from the west 

At evening to the Castle pressed, 

And busy talkers said they bore 

Tidings of fight on Katrine's shore ; 

At noon the deadly fray begun, 895 

And lasted till the set of sun. 

Thus giddy rumor shook the town, 

Till closed the Night her pennons brown. 

887. Earl "William. Note, Canto V., line 550. 



OUTLINE OF CANTO SIXTH. 



This Canto introduces us to the guard-room in Stirling Castle, 
amid the remains of the debauch which has followed the games of the 
previous day. While the few soldiers who remain awake are finish- 
ing their carouse, and talking over the rumors of yesterday's battle, 
they are joined by one of their mates who has been in the field, 
and brings with him a maiden and a minstrel (Ellen and AUau 
Bane). They are at first disposed to treat the maiden roughly, 
but the sight of her innocent beauty and her story of misfortune 
touch the heart of one of the roughest in the company, who be- 
comes her champion. Presently they are joined by the ofiicer of 
the guard, who, at sight of Fitz-James's ring, commits the lady to 
proper care, while John of Brent, the guardsman who had inter- 
fered, grants Allan's request to see his master ; but, fancying that 
the minstrel is one of Roderick's clansmen, he shows him into the 
wrong cell, where he finds the wounded chief. After anxious 
inquiries as to the safety of his kindred, Roderick asks news of the 
fight, and the minstrel, in spirited verse, sings the battle of Beal' 
an Duine, whose issue was left doubtful by the arrival of a mes- 
senger from the king with orders to stay the fight. But before he 
had finished his song the stern spirit had fled, and the minstrel's 
harp changes its tune from battle-song to death-dirge. 

Meanwhile Ellen waits anxiously and impatiently for her audience 
with the king. At last Fitz-James appears to escort her to the 
audience chamber. Faltering, she looks round to find the king, 
and sees, to her surprise, that her companion alone remains covered, 
and " Snowdoun's knight is Scotland's king." He tells her how 
the feud with Douglas is at an end, and that her father is now to 
be " the friend and bulwark of his throne." But she has still the 
ring, still some boon to ask. She begs for Roderick's life, but that 
is past giving ; and when she shrinks from further request, the king 
calls forth Malcolm, and throws over him a golden chain, which he 
gives to Ellen to keep. — Taylor. 



THE GUARD-EOOM. 
I. 

The sun, awakening, through the smoky air 

Of the dark city casts a sullen glance, 
Rousing each caitiff to his task of care, 

Of sinful man the sad inheritance ; 
Summoning revellers from the lagging dance, 6 

Scaring the prowling robber to his den ; 
Gilding on battled tower the warder's lance, 

And warning student pale to leave his pen. 
And yield his drowsy eyes to the kind nurse of men. 

What various scenes, and O, what scenes of woe, lo 

Are witnessed by that red and struggling beam ! 
The fevered patient, from his pallet low, 

Through crowded hospital beholds it stream ; 
The ruined maiden trembles at its gleam, 

The debtor wakes to thought of gyve and jail, 15 

The love-lorn wretch starts from tormenting dream ; 

The wakeful mother, by the glimmering pale, 
Trims her sick infant's couch, and soothes his feeble wail. 

II. 

At dawn the towers of Stirling rang 

With soldier-step and weapon-clang, 20 

3. Caitiff. Miserable wretch. — 12. Pallet. Bed of straw. 
15. Gyve [jlv]. A fetter or cliaiu to confine the legs. 



CANTO VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 179 

While drums with rolling note foretell 

Relief to weary sentinel. 

Through narrow loop and casement barred, 

The sunbeams sought the Court of Guard, 

And, struggling with the smoky air, 25 

Deadened the torches' yellow glare. 

In comfortless alliance shone 

The lights through arch of blackened stone, 

And showed wild shapes in garb of war, 

Faces deformed with beard and scar, so 

All haggard from tlie midnight watch. 

And fevered with the stern debauch ; 

For the oak table's massive board. 

Flooded with wine, with fragments stored, 

And beakers drained, and cups o'erthrown, 35 

Showed in what sport the night had flown. 

Some, weary, snored on floor and bench ; 

Some labored still their thirst to quench ; 

Some, chilled with watching, spread their hands 

O'er the huge chimney's dying brands, 40 

While round them, or beside them flung. 

At every step their harness rung. 



III. 

These drew not for their fields the sword, 

Like tenants of a feudal lord. 

Nor owned the patriarchal claim 45 

Of Chieftain in their leader's name ; 

23. Loop. I.oop-hole ; a narrow opeulug in a fortification througli 
whicli small arms are discharged. — Casement. Window. 

35. Beakers. Large drinking-cups. — 42. Harness. Armor. 



180 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

Adventurers they, from far who roved, 

To live by battle which they loved. 

There the Italian's clouded face, 

The swarthy Spaniard's there you trace ; 50 

The mountain-loving Switzer there 

More freely breathed in mountain-air ; 

The Fleming there despised the soil 

That paid so ill the laborer's toil ; 

Their rolls showed French and German name ; 55 

And merry England's exiles came, 

To share, with ill-concealed disdain, 

Of Scotland's pay the scanty gain. 

All brave in arms, well trained to wield 

The heavy halberd, brand, and shield ; 60 

In camps licentious, wild, and bold ; 

In pillage fierce and uncontrolled; 

And now, by holytide and feast, 

From rules of discipline released. 



IV. 

They held deliate of bloody fray, 65 

Fought 'twixt Loch Katrine and Achray. 
Fierce was their speech, and 'mid their words 
Their hands oft grappled to their swords ; 

47. Adventurers. The Scottish armies consisted chiefly of the nobility 
and harons, with their vassals, who held lands under them, for military 
service by themselves and their tenants. James V. seems first to have 
introduced, in addition to the militia furnished from these sources, the 
service of a small number of mercenaries, who formed a body-guard, called 
the Foot-Band. Scott. —51. Switzer. An inhabitant of Switzerland. 

63. Fleming. A citizen of Flanders, now part of Belgium. 

60. Halberd. A kind of broad axe now rarely used. 

63. Holytide. Holiday; festal season (tide means time). 



CANTO VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 181 

Nor sunk their tone to spare the ear 

Of wounded comrades groaning near, 70 

Whose mangled limbs and bodies gored 

Bore token of the mountain sword, 

Though, neighboring to the Court of Guard, 

Their prayers and feverish wails were heard, — 

Sad burden to the ruffian joke, 75 

And savage oath by fury spoke ! — 

At length up started John of Brent, 

A yeoman from the banks of Trent ; 

A stranger to respect or fear. 

In peace a chaser of the deer, 80 

In host a hardy mutineer, 

But still the boldest of the crew 

When deed of danger was to do. 

He grieved that day their games cut short, 

And marred the dicer's brawling sport, 85 

And shouted loud, " Renew the bowl ! 

And, while a merry catch I troll. 

Let each the buxom chorus bear. 

Like brethren of the brand and spear." 



Our vicar still preaches that Peter and Poule 90 

Laid a swinging long curse on the bonny brown bowl. 
That there's wrath and despair in the jolly black-jack. 
And the seven deadly sins in a flagon of sack ; 

71. Gored. Pierced and torn. —81. Host. An army. 

87. Troll. Sing loudly. —88. Buxom. Brisk; frolicsome. 

92. Black-jack. A pitcher made of leather-colored black. 



182 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. oanto vi. 

Yet whoop, Barnaby ! off with thy liquor, 
Drink upsees out, and a fig for the vicar ! 

Our vicar he calls it damnation to sip 
The ripe ruddy dew of a woman's dear lip, 
Says that Beelzebub lurks in her kerchief so sly, 
And ApoUyon shoots darts from her merry black eye ; 
Yet whoop, Jack ! kiss Gillian the quicker, ^ lOO 

Till she bloom like a rose, and a fig for the vicar ! 

Our vicar thus preaches, — and why should he not ? 
For the dues of his cure are the placket and pot ; 
And 'tis right of his office poor laymen to lurch 
Who infringe the domains of our good Mother Church. 105 
Yet whoop, bully-boys ! off with your liquor. 
Sweet Marjorie's the word, and a fig for the vicar ! 

VI. 

The warder's challenge, heard without, 

Stayed in mid-roar the merry shout. 

A soldier to the portal went, — no 

" Here is old Bertram, sirs, of Ghent ; 

And — beat for jubilee the drum ! — 

A maid and minstrel witli him come." 

Bertram, a Fleming, gray and scarred. 

Was entering now the Court of Guard, ii5 

A hari)er with him, and, in plaid 

All muffled close, a mountain maid, 

Who backward shrunk to 'scape the view 

Of the loose scene and boisterous crew. 

" What news ? " they roared : — "I only know, 120 

From noon till eve we fought with foe, 



CANTO VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 183 

As wild and as untamable 
As the rude mountains where they dwell ; 
On both sides store of blood is lost, 
Nor much success can either boast." — 125 

"But whence thy captives, friend? such spoil 
As theirs must needs reward thy toil. 
Old dost thou wax, and wars grow sharp ; 
.Thou now hast glee-maiden and harp ! 
Get thee an ape, and trudge the land, i;» 

The leader of a juggler band." 

VII. 

" No, comrade ; — no such fortune mine. 

After the fight these sought our line, 

That aged harper and the girl. 

And, having audience of the Earl, 135 

Mar bade I should purvey them steed, 

And bring them hitherward with speed. 

Forbear your mirth and rude alarm. 

For none shall do them shame or harm." — 

" Hear ye his boast ? " cried John of Brent, mo 

Ever to strife and jangling bent ; 

" Shall he strike doe beside our lodge. 

And yet the jealous niggard grudge 

To pay the forester his fee ? 

I'll have my share liowe'er it be, 145 

Despite of Moray, Mar, or thee." 

131. Juggler. The jugglers used to call in the aid of various assistants 
to render these jierformances as captivating as possible. The glee-maiden 
was a necessary attendant. Her duty was tumbling and dancing; and, 
therefore, the Anglo-Saxon version of Saint Mark's Gospel states Herodias 
to have vaulted or tumbled before King Herod. Scott. 

136. Purvey. Provide. 



184 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

Bertram his forward step withstood ; 

And, burning in his vengeful mood, 

Old Allan, though unfit for strife, 

Laid hand upon his dagger-knife ; 150 

But Ellen boldly stepped between, 

And dropped at once the tartan screen : — 

So, from his morning cloud, appears 

The sun of May through summer tears. 

The savage soldiery, amazed, 155 

As on descended angel gazed ; 

Even hardy Brent, abashed and tamed. 

Stood half admiring, half ashamed. 

VIII. 

Boldly she spoke : " Soldiers, attend ! 
My father was the soldier's friend, 160 

Cheered him in camps, in marches led, 
And with him in the battle bled. 
Not from the valiant or the strong 
Should exile's daughter suffer wrong." 
Answered De Brent, most forward still 165 

In every feat of good or ill ; 
" I shame me of the part I played ; 
And thou an outlaw's child, poor maid ! 
An outlaw I by forest laws, 

And merry Needwood knows the cause. no 

Poor Rose, — if Rose be living now," — 
He wiped his iron eye and brow, — 
" Must bear such age, I think, as thou. — 
Hear ye, my mates ! I go to call 
The Captain of our watch to hall : 175 

170. Needwood. A royal forest in England. 



CANTO VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 185 

There lies my halberd on the floor ; 

And he that steps my halberd o'er, 

To do the maid injurious part, 

My shaft shall quiver in his heart ! 

Beware loose speech, or jesting rough ; 180 

Ye all know John de Brent. Enough." 

IX. 

Their Captain came, a gallant young, — 

Of Tullibardine's house he sprung, — 

Nor wore he yet the spurs of knight ; 

Gay was his mien, his humor light, 185 

And, though by courtesy controlled. 

Forward his speech, his bearing bold. 

The liigh-born maiden ill could brook 

The scanning of his curious look 

And dauntless eye : — and yet, in sooth, 190 

Young Lewis was a generous youth ; 

But Ellen's lovely face and mien, 

111 suited to the garb and scene, 

Might lightly bear construction strange, 

And give loose fancy scope to range. 195 

" Welcome to Stirling towers, fair maid ! 

Come ye to seek a champion's aid, 

On palfrey white, with harper hoar, 

Like errant damosel of yore ? 

Does thy high quest a knight require, 200 

Or may the venture suit a squire ? " 

Her dark eye flashed ; — she paused and sighed : — 

" O what have I to do with pride ! — 

183. Tullibardine's house. The seat of the Mnrrays, who were noted 
for their pride. — 199. Errant damosel. Wandering maiden. 



186 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

Through scenes of sorrow, shame, and strife, 

A suppliant for a father's life, 205 

I crave an audience of the King. 

Behold, to back my suit, a ring, 

The royal pledge of grateful claims, 

Given by the Monarch to Fitz-James." 

X. 

The signet ring young Lewis took 210 

With deep respect and altered look, 

And said : " This ring our duties own ; 

And pardon, if to worth unknown, 

In semblance mean obscurely veiled. 

Lady, in aught my folly failed. 215 

Soon as the day flings wide his gates. 

The King shall know what suitor waits. 

Please you meanwhile in fitting bower 

Repose you till his waking hour ; 

Female attendance shall obey 220 

Your hest, for service or array. 

Permit I marshal you the way." 

But, ere she followed, with the grace 

And open bounty of her race. 

She bade her slender purse be shared 225 

Among the soldiers of the guard. 

The rest with thanks their guerdon took, 

But Brent, with shy and awkward look, 

On tlie reluctant maiden's hold 

Forced bluntly back the proffered gold : — 230 

" Forgive a haughty English heart, 

And O, forget its ruder part ! 

2'21. Array. Dress.— 227. Guerdon. (Jilt; reward. 



CANTO VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 187 

The vacant purse shall be my share, 

Which ill my barret-cap I'll bear, 

Perchance, in jeopardy of war, 235 

Where gayer crests may keep afar." 

With thanks — 'twas all she could — the maid 

His rugged courtesy repaid. 

XI. 

When Ellen forth with Lewis went, 

Allan made suit to John of Brent : — 240 

" My lady safe, O let your grace 

Give me to see my master's face ! 

His minstrel I, — to share his doom 

Bound from the cradle to the tomb. 

Tenth in descent, since first my sires 245 

Waked for his noble house their lyres, 

Nor one of all the race was known 

But ]3rized its weal above their own. 

With the Chief's birth begins our care ; 

Our harp must soothe the infant heir, 250 

Teach the youth tales of fight, and grace 

His earliest feat of field or chase ; 

In peace, in war, our rank we keep, 

We cheer his board, we soothe his sleep, 

Nor leave him till we pour our verse — 255 

A doleful tribute ! — o'er his hearse. 

Then let me share his captive lot ; 

It is my right, — deny it not ! " 

" Little we reck," said John of Brent, 

" We southern men, of long descent ; 260 

234. Barret-cap. A cap formerly worn by soldiers. 

235. Jeopardy. Peril. 



188 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

Nor wot we how a name — a word — 

Makes clansmen vassals to a lord : 

Yet kind my noble landlord's part, — 

God bless the house of Beaudesert ! 

And, but I loved to drive the deer 265 

More than to guide the laboring steer, 

I had not dwelt an outcast here. 

Come, good old Minstrel, follow me ; 

Thy Lord and Chieftain shalt thou see." 



XII. 

Then, from a rusted iron hook, 270 

A bunch of ponderous keys he took, 

Lighted a torch, and Allan led 

Througli grated arch and passage dread. 

Portals they passed, where, deep within, 

Spoke prisoner's moan and fetters' din ; 275 

Through rugged vaults, where, loosely stored, 

Lay wheel, and axe, and headsman's sword, 

And many a hideous engine grim, 

For wrenching joint and crushing limb. 

By artists formed who deemed it shame 280 

And sin to give their work a name. 

They halted at a low-browed porch, 

And Brent to Allan gave the torch. 

While bolt and chain he backward rolled, 

And made the bar unhasp its hold. 285 

They entered : — 'twas a prison-room 

Of stern security and gloom. 

Yet not a dungeon ; for the day 

Through lofty gratings found its way, 



3 VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 189 

And rude and antique garniture 290 

Decked the sad walls and oaken floor, 

Such as the rugged days of old 

Deemed fit for captive noble's hold. 

" Here," said De Brent, " thou mayst remain 

Till the Leech visit him again. 295 

Strict is his charge, the warders tell, 

To tend the noble prisoner well." 

Retiring then the bolt he drew, 

And the lock's inurmurs growled anew. 

Roused at the sound, from lowly bed 300 

A captive feebly raised his head ; 

The wondering Minstrel looked, and knew — 

Not his dear lord, but Roderick Dhu ! 

For, come from where Clan- Alpine fought, 

They, erring, deemed the Chief he sought. 305 



XIII. 

As the tall ship, whose lofty prore 

Shall never stem the billows more. 

Deserted by her gallant band, 

Amid the breakers lies astrand, — 

So on his couch lay Roderick Dhu ! 310 

And oft his fevered limbs he threw 

In toss abrupt, as when her sides 

Lie rocking in the advancing tides, 

That shake her frame with ceaseless beat, 

Yet cannot heave her from her seat ; — 315 

290. Antique garniture. Ancient decoration or furnishings. 
295. Leech. Physician. — 306. Prore. The prow or forward part of a 
ship. — 309. Astrand. Ashore. 



190 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

O, how unlike her course at sea ! 

Or his free step on hill and lea ! — • 

Soon as the Minstrel he could scan, — 

"• What of thy lady ? — of my clan ? — 

My mother ? — Douglas "^ — tell me all ! 320 

Have they been ruined in my fall? 

Ah, yes ! or wherefore art thou here ? 

Yet speak, — speak boldly, — do not fear." — 

For Allan, who his mood well knew. 

Was choked with grief and terror too. — 325 

" Who fought ? — who fled ? — Old man, be brief ; — 

Some might, — for they had lost their Chief. 

Wlio basely live ? — who bravely died ? " 

" O, calm thee. Chief I " the Minstrel cried, 

" Ellen is safe ! " " For that thank Heaven ! " 330 

" And hopes are for the Douglas given ; — 

The Lady Margaret, too, is well ; 

And, for thy clan, — on field or fell, 

Has never harp of minstrel told 

Of combat fought so true and bold. 335 

Thy stately Pine is yet unbent. 

Though many a goodly bough is rent." 

XIV. 

The Chieftain reared his form on high. 

And fever's fire was in his eye ; 

But ghastly, pale, and livid streaks 340 

Checkered his swarthy brow and cheeks. 

" Hark, Minstrel ! 1 have heard thee play, 

With measure bold on festal day. 

In yon lone isle, — again where ne'er 

Shall harper play or warrior hear ! — 346 



CANTO VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 191 

That stirring air that peals on high, 

O'er Dermid's race our victory. — 

Strike it! — and then, — for well thou canst, — 

Free from thy minstrel-spirit glanced, 

Fling me the picture of the fight, 350 

When met my clan the Saxon might. 

I'll listen, till my fancy hears 

The clang of swords, the crash of spears ! 

These grates, these walls, shall vanish then 

For the fair field of fighting men, 355 

And my free spirit burst away. 

As if it soared from battle fray." 

The trembling Bard with awe obeyed, — 

Slow on the harp his hand he laid ; 

But soon remembrance of the sight 360 

He witnessed from the mountain's height, 

With what old Bertram told at night. 

Awakened the full power of song, 

And bore him in career along ; — 

As shallop launched on river's tide, 365 

That slow and fearful leaves the side. 

But, when it feels the middle stream. 

Drives downward swift as lightning's beam. 

XV. 

Rattle of §m[' an §xxm. 
" The Minstrel came once more to view 
The eastern ridge of Benvenue, 370 

365. Shallop. Boat. — 369. Battle of Beal' an Duine. A skirmish 
actually took place at a pass thus called iu the Trosachs, and closed with 
the remarkahle incident mentioned in the text. It was greatly posterior 
in date to the reign of James V. Scott. 



192 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

For ere he parted he would say 

Farewell to lovely Loch Achray — 

Where shall he find, in foreign land, 

So lone a lake, so sweet a strand ! — 

There is no breeze npon the fern, 375 

No ripple on the lake, 
Upon her eyry nods the erne, 

The deer has sought the brake ; 
The small birds will not sing aloud, 

The springing trout lies still, 380 

So darkly glooms yon thunder-cloud, 
That swathes, as with a purple shroud, 

Benledi's distant hill. 
Is it the thunder's solemn sound 

That mutters deep and dread, 385 

Or echoes from the groaning ground 

The warrior's measui-ed tread ? 
Is it the lightning's quivering glance 

That on the thicket streams, 
Or do they flash on spear and lance 390 

The sun's retiring beams? — 
I see the dagger-crest of Mar, 
I see the Moray's silver star. 
Wave o'er the cloud of Saxon war. 
That up the lake comes winding far ! 395 

To hero bound for battle-strife. 

Or bard of martial lay, 
'Twere worth ten years of peaceful life. 

One glance at their array ! 

377. Eyry. The eagle's nest. — Erne. The sea-eagle. 



CANTO VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 193 

XVI. 

" Their light-armed archers far and near 400 

Surveyed the tangled ground, 
Their centre ranks, with pike and spear, 

A twilight forest frowned, 
Their barded horsemen in the rear 

The stern battalia crowned. 405 

No cymbal clashed, no clarion rang, 

Still were the pipe and drum ; 
Save heavy tread, and armor's clang, 

The sullen march was dumb. 
There breathed no wind their crests to shake, 4io 

Or wave their flags abroad ; 
Scarce the frail aspen seemed to quake, 

That shadowed o'er their road. 
Their vaward scouts no tidings bring. 

Can rouse no lurking foe, 415 

Nor spy a trace of living thing. 

Save when they stirred the roe ; 
The host moves like a deep-sea wave. 
Where rise no rocks its pride to brave, 

High-swelling, dark, and slow, 420 

The lake is passed, and now they gain 
A narrow and a broken plain, 
Before the Trosach's rugged jaws ; 
And here the horse and spearmen pause. 
While, to explore the dangerous glen, 425 

Dive through the pass the archer-men. 

404. Barded. Wearing armor. — 405. Battalia. Order of battle. 

406. Cymbals. Brass musical instruments, circular in form, which, being 
struck together, produce a sharp ringing sound. 

414. Vaward scouts. A small body of men sent out in advance of an 
army to gain information of the enemy. 



194 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

XVII. 
" At once there rose so wild a yell 
Within that dark and narrow dell, 
As all the fiends from heaven that fell 
Had pealed the banner-cry of hell ! 430 

Forth from the pass in tumult driven, 
Like chaff before the wind of heaven, 

The archery appear : 
For life ! for life ! their flight they ply — 
And shriek, and shout, and battle-cry, 435 

And plaids and bonnets waving high, 
And broadswords flashing to the sky, 

Are maddening in the rear. 
Onward they drive in dreadful race, 

Pursuers and pursued ; 440 

Before that tide of flight and chase. 
How shall it keep its rooted place. 

The spearmen's twilight wood ? — 
' Down, down,' cried Mar, ' your lances down ! 

Bear back both friend and foe ! ' — 445 

Like reeds before the tempest's frown. 
That serried grove of lances brown 

At once lay levelled low ; 
And closely shouldering side to side, 
The bristling ranks the onset bide. — 450 

' We'll quell the savage mountaineer, 

As their Tinchel cows the game ! 
They come as fleet as forest deer. 

We'll drive them back as tame.' 

447. Serried. Crowded. 

452. Tinchel. A circle of sportsmen, by surrounding a great space, 
and gradually narrowing, brought immense quantities of deer together, 
which usually made desperate efforts to break through the Tinchel. Scott. 



VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 195 

XVIII. 
" Bearing before them in their course 455 

The relics of the archer force, 
Like wave with crest of sparkling foam, 
Right onward did Clan-Alpine come. 
Above the tide, each broadsword bright 
Was brandishing like beam of light, 4G0 

Each targe was dark below ; 
And with the ocean's mighty swing. 
When heaving to the tempest's wing, 
They hurled them on the foe. 
I heard the lance's shivering crash, 465 

As when the whirlwind rends the ash ; 
I heard the broadsword's deadly clang, 
As if a hundred anvils rang ! 
But Moray wheeled his rearward rank 
Of horsemen on Clan-Alpine's flank, — 470 

' My banner-man, advance ! 
I see,' he cried, 'their column shake. 
Now, gallants ! for your ladies' sake. 

Upon them with the lance ! ' — 
The horsemen dashed among the rout, 475 

As deer break through the broom ; 
Their steeds are stout, their swords are out, 

They soon make lightsome room. 
Clan- Alpine's best are backward borne — 

Where, where was Roderick then ! 480 

One blast upon his bugle-horn 

Were worth a thousand men. 
And refluent through the pass of fear 
The battle's tide was j^oured ; 

483. Kefluent. Flowing back ; ebbing. 



196 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

Vanished the Saxon's struggling spear, 485 

Vanished the mountain-sword. 
As Bracklinn's chasm, so black and steep, 

Receives her roaring linn. 
As the dark caverns of the deep 

Suck the wild whirlpool in, 490 

So did the deep and darksome pass 
Devour the battle's mingled mass ; 
None linger now upon the plain. 
Save those who ne'er shall fight again. 

XIX. 

" Now westward rolls the battle's din, 495 

That deep and doubling pass within. — 
Minstrel, away ! the work of fate 
Is bearing on ; its issue wait, 
Where the rude Trosachs' dread defile 
Opens on Katrine's lake and isle. 600 

Gray Ben venue I soon repassed. 
Loch Katrine lay beneath me cast. 
The sun is set ; — the clouds are met, 

The lowering scowl of heaven 
An inky hue of livid blue 505 

To the deep lake has given ; 
Strange gusts of wind from mountain glen 
Swept o'er the lake, tjien sunk again. 
I heeded not the eddying surge. 
Mine eye but saw the Trosachs' gorge, 6io 

Mine ear but heard that sullen sound, 
Which like an earthquake shook the ground, 
And spoke the stern and desperate strife 
That parts not but with parting life, 



CANTO VI. THE GUAED-ROOM. 197 

Seeming, to minstrel ear, to toll 515 

The dirge of many a passing soul. 

Nearer it comes — the dim-wood glen 

The martial flood disgorged again, 
But not in mingled tide ; 

The plaided warriors of the North 520 

High on the mountain thunder forth 
And overhang its side, 

While by the lake below aj^pears 

The darkening cloud of Saxon spears. 

At weary bay each shattered band, 525 

Eying their foemen, sternly stand ; 

Their banners stream like tattered sail, 

That flings its fragments to the gale, 

And broken arms and disarray 

Marked the fell havoc of the day. 530 

XX. 

" Viewing the mountain's ridge askance, 
The Saxons stood in sullen trance, 
Till Moray pointed with his lance, 
And cried : ' Behold yon isle ! — 
See ! none are left to guard its strand 535 

But women weak, that wring the hand : 
'Tis there of yore the robber band 

Their booty wont to pile ; — 
My purse, with bonnet-pieces store, 
To him will swim a bow-shot o'er, 540 

And loose a shallop from the shore. 

516. Dirge. Mournful music accompanying funeral rites. 

539. Bonnet pieces. A gold coin on which the king's head was rep- 
resented with a bonnet instead of a crown, coined by the "Commons' 
King." Taylor. 



198 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

Lightly we'll tame the war-wolf then, 

Lords of his mate, and brood, and den." 

Forth from the ranks a spearman sprung, 

On earth his casque and corselet rung, 545 

He plunged him in the wave : — 
All saw the deed, — the purpose knew. 
And to their clamors Benvenue 

A mingled echo gave ; 
The Saxons shout, their mate to cheer, 550 

The helpless females scream for fear. 
And yells for rage the mountaineer. 
'Twas then, as by the outcry riven, 
Poured down at once the lowering heaven : 
A whirlwind swept Loch Katrine's breast, 555 

Her billows reared their snowy crest. 
Well for the swimmer swelled they high. 
To mar the Highland marksman's eye , 
For round him showered, mid rain and hail, 
The vengeful arrows of the Gael. sgo 

In vain. — He nears the isle — and lo ! 
His hand is on a shallop's bow. 
Just then a flash of lightning came, 
It tinged the waves and strand with flame ; 
I marked Duncraggan's widowed dame, 5G5 

Behind an oak I saw her stand, 
A naked dirk gleamed in her hand : — 
It darkened, — but amid the moan 
Of waves I heard a dying groan ; — 
Another flash ! — the spearman floats 570 

A weltering corse beside the boats, 

545. Casque. A pieceof armor for protecting the head and neck in battle; 
a helmet. — Corselet. A piece of armor for protecting the front of the body. 



CANTO VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 199 

And the stern matron o'er him stood, 
Her hand and dagger streaming blood. 

XXI. 

" ' Revenge ! revenge ! ' the Saxons cried, 

The Gaels' exulting shout replied. 575 

Despite the elemental rage, 

Again they hurried to engage ; 

But, ere they closed in desperate fight, 

Bloody with spurring came a knight. 

Sprung from his horse, and from a crag 580 

Wr ved 'twixt the hosts a milk-white flag. 

Cirion and trumpet by his side 

Rung forth a truce-note high and wide. 

While, in the Monarch's name, afar 

A herald's voice forbade the war, 585 

For Bothwell's lord and Roderick bold 

Were both, he said, in captive hold." — 

But here the lay made sudden stand, 

The harp escaped the Minstrel's hand ! 

Oft had he stolen a glance, to spy 5'jo 

How Roderick brooked his minstrelsy : 

At first, the Chieftain, to the chime, 

With lifted hand kept feeble time ; 

That motion ceased, — yet feeling strong 

Varied his look as changed the song ; 595 

At length, no more his deafened ear 

The minstrel melody can hear ; 

His face grows sharp, — his hands are clenched, 

As if some pang his heart-strings wrenched ; 

Set are his teeth, his fading eye 600 

Is sternly fixed on vacancy ; 



200 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

Thus, motionless and moanless, drew 

His parting breath stout Roderick Dhu ! — 

Old Allan-bane looked on aghast, 

While grim and still his spirit passed ; cos 

But when he saw that life was fled. 

He poured his wailing o'er the dead. 

XXII. 

" And art thou cold and lowly laid, 

Thy foeman's dread, thy people's aid, 

Breadalbane's boast. Clan- Alpine's shade ! eio 

For thee shall none a requiem say ? — 

For thee, who loved the minstrel's lay, 

For thee, of Bothwell's house the stay, 

The shelter of her exiled line. 

E'en in this prison-house of thine, 615 

I'll wail for Alpine's honored Pine ! 

" What groans shall yonder valleys fill ! 

What shrieks of grief shall rend yon hill ! 

What tears of burning rage shall thrill. 

When mourns thy tribe thy battles done, (320 

Thy fall before the race was won. 

Thy sword ungirt ere set of sun ! 

There breathes not clansman of thy line, 

But would have given his life for thine. 

O, woe for Alpine's honored Pine ! 625 

" Sad was thy lot on mortal stage ! — 
The captive thrush may brook the cage, 

611. Bequiem. A hymn, or mass, sung for the repose of the soul after 
death. 



CANTO VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 201 

The prisoned eagle dies for rage. 

Brave spirit, do not scorn my strain ! 

And, when its notes awake again, 630 

Even she, so long beloved in vain, 

Shall with my harp her voice combine. 

And mix her woe and tears with mine, 

To wail Clan-Alpine's honored Pine." 

XXIII. 

Ellen the while, with bursting heart, 635 

Remained in lordly bower apart. 

Where played, with many-colored gleams, 

Through storied pane the rising beams. 

In vain on gilded roof they fall. 

And lightened up a tapestried wall, 640 

And for her use a menial train 

A rich collation spread in vain. 

The banquet proud, the chamber gay. 

Scarce draw one curious glance astray ; 

Or if she looked, 'twas but to say, 645 

With better omen dawned the day 

In that lone isle, where waved on high 

The dun-deer's hide for canopy ; 

Where oft her noble father shared 

The simple meal her care prepared, 650 

While Lufra, crouching by her side, 

Her station claimed with jealous pride, 

And Douglas, bent on woodland game, 

Spoke of the chase to Malcolm Grseme, 

638. Storied pane. Windows adorned with historical paintings. 
640. Tapestried. Hung with an ornamental figured cloth of wool or 
siUi. — C41. Menial train. A train of servants. 



202 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

Whose answer, oft at random made, 655 

The wandering of his thoughts betrayed. 

Those who such simple joys have known 

Are taught to prize them when they're gone. 

But sudden, see, she lifts her head, 

The window seeks with cautious tread. 660 

What distant music has the power 

To win her in this woful hour ? 

'Twas from a turret that o'erhung 

Her latticed bower, the strain was sung. 



XXIV. 

^ag of t)^t Imprrsonrb Pimlsman. 

" My hawk is tired of perch and hood, 665 

My idle greyhound loathes his food, 

My horse is weary of his stall, 

And I am sick of captive thrall. 

I wish I were as I have been, 

Hunting the hart in forest green, 670 

With bended bow and bloodhound free, 

For that's the life is meet for me. 

I hate to learn the ebb of time 

From yon dull steeple's drowsy chime, 

Or mark it as the sunbeams crawl, 675 

Inch after inch, along the wall. 

The lark was wont my martins ring, 

The sable rook my vespers sing ; 

These towers, although a king's they be, 

Have not a hall of joy for me. 680 

No more at dawning morn I rise, 



CANTO VI. THE GUAKD-KOOM. 203 

And sun myself in Ellen's eyes, 

Drive the fleet deer the forest through. 

And homeward wend with evening dew ; 

A blithesome welcome blithely meet, 680 

And lay my trophies at her feet, 

While fled the eve on wing of glee, — 

That life is lost to love and me ! " 

XXV. 

The heart-sick lay was hardly said. 

The listener had not turned her head, 690 

It trickled still, the starting tear. 

When light a footstep struck her ear. 

And Snowdoun's graceful Knight was near. 

She turned the hastier, lest again 

The prisoner should renew his strain. 695 

" O welcome, brave Fitz-James ! " she said ; 

" How may an almost orphan maid 

Pay the deep debt — " " O say not so ! 

To me no gratitude you owe. 

Not mine, alas ! the boon to give, 700 

And bid thy noble father live ; 

I can but be thy guide, sweet maid, 

With Scotland's King thy suit to aid. 

No tyrant he, though ire and pride 

May lay his better mood aside. 705 

Come, Ellen, come ! 'tis more than time, 

He holds his court at morning prime." 

With beating heart, and bosom wrung, 

As to a brother's arm she clung. 

707. Morning prime. Dawn. 



204 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

Gently he dried the falling tear, 7io 

And gently whispered hope and cheer ; 

Her faltering steps half led, half stayed. 

Through gallery fair and high arcade, 

Till at his touch its wings of pride 

A portal arch unfolded wide. 715 

XXVI. 

Within 'twas brilliant all and light, 

A thronging scene of figures bright ; 

It glowed on Ellen's dazzled sight. 

As when the setting sun has given, 

Ten thousand hues to summer even, 720 

And from their tissue fancy frames 

Aerial knights and fairy dames. 

Still by Fitz-James her footing staid ; 

A few faint steps she forward made, 

Then slow her drooping head she raised, 725 

And fearful round the presence gazed ; 

For him she sought who owned this state. 

The dreaded Prince Avhose will was fate ! — 

She gazed on many a princely port 

Might well have ruled a royal court ; 730 

On many a splendid garb she gazed, — 

Then turned bewildered and amazed. 

For all stood bare ; and in the room 

Fitz-James alone wore cap and jolume. 

To him each lady's look was lent, 735 

On him each courtier's eye was bent ; 

713. Arcade. A series of openings, or recesses, with arched ceilings 
supported by columns. — 726. Presence. Presence-chamber; the room in 
which a great person receives guests. 



CANTO VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 205 

Midst furs and silks and jewels sheen, 

He stood, in simple Lincoln green, 

The centre of the glittering ring, — 

And Snowdoun's Knight is Scotland's King I 740 



XXVII. 

As wreath of snow on mountain-breast 

Slides from the rock that gave it rest, 

Poor Ellen glided from her stay. 

And at the Monarch's feet she lay ; 

No word her choking voice commands, — "45 

She showed the ring, — she clasped her hands. 

O, not a moment could he brook. 

The generous Prince, that suppliant look ! 

Gently he raised her, — and, the while. 

Checked with a glance the circle's smile ; 'so 

Graceful, but grave, her brow he kissed. 

And bade her terrors be dismissed : — 

" Yes, fair ; the wandering poor Fitz- James 

The fealty of Scotland claims. 

To him thy woes, thy wishes, bring ; 755 

He will redeem his signet ring. 

Ask naught for Douglas ; — yester even, 

His Prince and he have much forgiven ; 

740. Snowdoun's Knight is Scotland's King. James V., of whom we 
are treating, was a monarch whose good and benevolent intentions often 
r ndered his romantic freaks venial, if not respectable, since, from his 
anxious attention to the interests of the lower and most oppressed class of 
his subjects, he was, as we have seen, popularly termed the Kinri of the 
Commons. For the purpose of seeing that justice was regularly adminis- 
tered, and frequently from the less justifiable motive of gallantry, he used 
to traverse the vicinage of his several palaces in various disguises. ScOTT. 

757. Yester even. Yesterday evening. 



206 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canto vi. 

Wrong hath he had from slanderous tongue, 

I, from his rebel kinsmen, wrong. 760 

We would not to the vulgar crowd, 

Yield what they craved with clamor loud ; 

Calmly we heard and judged his cause, 

Our council aided and our laws. 

I stanched thy father's death-feud stern 765 

With stout De Vaux and gray Glencairn ; 

And Bothwell's Lord henceforth we own 

The friend and bulwark of our throne. — 

But, lovely inhdel, how now ? 

What clouds thy misbelieving brow ? 770 

Lord James of Douglas, lend thine aid ; 

Thou must confirm this doubting maid." 

XXVIII. 

Then forth the noble Douglas sprung, 

And on his neck his daughter hung. 

The Monarch drank, that happy hour, 775 

The sweetest, holiest draught of Power, — 

When it can say with godlike voice, 

Arise, sad Virtue, and rejoice ! 

Yet would not James the general eye 

On nature's raptures long should pry ; 780 

He stepped between — " Nay, Douglas, nay. 

Steal not my proselyte away ! 

The riddle 'tis my right to read, 

That brought this happy chance to speed. 

Yes, Ellen, when disguised I stray 785 

In life's more low but happier way, 

782. Proselyte. New convert. 784. To speed. To a successful result. 



CANTO VI. TPTE GUARD-ROOM. 207 

'Tis under name which veils my power, 

Nor falsely veils, — for Stirling's tower 

Of yore the name of Snowdoun claims, 

And Normans call me James Fitz-James. 790 

Thus watch I o'er insulted laws, 

Thus learn to right the injured cause." 

Then, in a tone apart and low, — 

" Ah, little traitress ! none must know 

What idle dream, what lighter thought, 795 

What vanity full dearly bought. 

Joined to thine eye's dark witchcraft, drew 

My spell-bound steps to Benvenue 

In dangerous hour, and all but gave 

Thy Monarch's life to mountain glaive ! " 800 

Aloud he spoke : " Thou still dost hold 

That little talisman of gold. 

Pledge of my faith, Fitz-James's ring, — 

What seeks fair Ellen of the King ? " 



XXIX. 

Full well the conscious maiden guessed sos 

He probed the weakness of her breast ; 

But with that consciousness there came 

A lightening of her fears for Grteme, 

And more she deemed the Monarch's ire 

Kindled 'gainst him who for her sire 8io 

Rebellious broadsword boldly drew ; 

And, to her generous feeling true. 

She craved the grace of Roderick Dhu. , 

802. Talisman. An image supposed to produce a magical or extraordi- 
nary effect in preventing evil. 



208 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. canio vi. 

" Forbear thy suit ; — the King of kings 

Alone can stay life's parting wings. 8i5 

I know his heart, I know his hand, 

Have shared his cheer, and proved his brand ; — 

My fairest earldom would I give 

To bid Clan-Alpine's Chieftain live ! — 

Hast thou no other boon to crave ? 820 

No other captive friend to save ? " 

Blushing, she turned her from the King, 

And to the Douglas gave the ring, 

As if she wished her sire to speak 

The suit that stained her glowing cheek. 825 

" Nay, then, my pledge has lost its force, 

And stubborn justice holds her course. 

Malcolm, come forth ! " — and, at the word, 

Down kneeled the Greenie to Scotland's Lord. 

" For thee, rash youth, no suppliant sues, 830 

From thee may Vengeance claim her dues. 

Who nurtured underneath our smile. 

Hast paid our care by treacherous wile. 

And sought amid thy faithful clan 

A refuge for an outlawed man, 835 

Dishonoring thus thy loyal name. — 

Fetters and warder for the Grgeme ! " 

His chain of gold the King unstrung. 

The links o'er Malcolm's neck he flung. 

Then gently drew the glittering band, 840 

And laid the clasp on Ellen's haiid. 



825. stained. Flushed. 

833. Treacherous wile. A plot for tlie betrayal of a trust. 



CANTO VI. THE GUARD-ROOM. 209 

Harp of the North, farewell ! The hills grow dark, 

On purple peaks a deeper shade descending ; 
In twilight copse the glow-worm lights her spark, 

The deer, half seen, are to the covert wending. 845 
Resume thy wizard elm ! the fountain lending. 

And the wild breeze, thy wilder minstrelsy ; 
Thy numbers sweet with nature's vespers blending. 

With distant echo from the fold and lea, 
And herd-boy's evening pipe, and hum of housing bee. 

Yet, once again, farewell, thou Minstrel Harp ! 85i 

Yet, once again, forgive my feeble sway, 
And little reck I of the censure sharp 

May idly cavil at an idle lay. 
Much have I owed thy strains on life's long way, 855 

Through secret woes the world has never known, 
When on the weary night dawned wearier day, 

And bitterer was the grief devoured alone. — 
That I o'erlive such woes, Enchantress ! is thine own. 

Hark ! as my lingering footsteps slow retire, 860 

Some Spirit of the Air has waked thy string ! 
'Tis now a seraph bold, with touch of fire, 

'Tis now the brush of Fairy's frolic wing. 
Receding now the dying numbers ring 

Fainter and fainter down the rugged dell ; siir) 

And now the mountain breezes scarcely bring 

A wandering witch-note of the distant spell — 
And now, 'tis silent all ! — Enchantress, fare thee well ! 

854. Cavil. Find fault, without cause. 

862. Seraph. An angel of the highest rank. 



II^DEX TO ISrOTES. 



[Thk Numbebs repkr to Pages.] 



According pause, 4. 

Adventures, 180. 

Aghast, 76. 

Albany, 146. 

Allan, 129. 

Allan-bane, 37. 

Allies, 65. 

Alpine, 46. 

Amain, 11. 

Ambuscade, 148. 

Ambush, 133. 

Anathema, 83. 

And the best of Loch Lomond, etc.- 

Antique garniture, 189. 

Antiquity, 76. 

Apparition, 152. 

Apprehensive, 117. 

Arcade, 204. 

Archer wight, 160. 

Ardent symphony, 4. 

Arraignment, 146. 

Array, 186. 

Ascabart, 28. 

Aspen, 14. 

Assuage, 44. 

Astound, 66. 

Astrand, 189. 

Aught, 59. 

Augured, 81. 

Augur scathe, 124. 

Augury, 110. 

Auspicious, 114. 

Ave Maria, 103. 

Avouch, 113. 



55. 



Balvaig, 97. 

Ban, 82. 

Banditti, 174. 

Bannered pine, 52, 

Bannochar, 55. 

Barded, 193. 

Barret-cap, 187. 

Basked, 137. 

Battalia, 193. 

Batten, 1.30. 

Battled fence, 66. 

Battled verge, 173. 

Battlement, 13. 

Battle of Bear an Duine, 191. 

Beacon, 5. 

Bead, 17. 

Beala-nambo, 85. 

Bear malia, 111. 

Beakers, 179. 

Beamed frontlet, 5. 

Beck, 150. 

Beetled, 66. 

Beguile, 118. 

Beltane game, 51. 

Ben-an, 16. 

Ben-an's gray scalp, 84. 

Benharrow, 77. 

Benighted, 22. 

Benledi, 8. 

Ben-Shie, 81. 

Benvenue, 8. 

Benvoirlich, 5. 

Beshrew, 17. 

Betimes, 124. 



212 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



Bide, 109. 

Bittern, 31. 

Black-jack, 181. 

Black Sir Roderick, 46. 

Blair-Drummond, 160. 

Blantyre, 58. 

Blazed, 113. 

Bleeding Heart, 45. 

Blench, C5. 

Blithe carol, 88. 

Bocliastle, 153. 

Bochastle's heath, 8. 

Boding, 44. 

Bonnet pieces, 197. 

Bonnets, 52. 

Boon to crave, 127. 

Bootless, 65. 

Bosky, 88. 

Boss, 111. 

Bothwell's bannered hall, 4.!. 

Bonne, 109, 159. 

Bout, 109. 

Bourne, 124. 

Bower, 41. 

Bracken, 96. 

Bracklinn, 49. 

Braes, 03. 

Braes of Donne, 108. 

Brake, 9. 

Brand, 34. 

Brawny, 167. 

Breadalbane, 55. 

Bride of Heaven, 162. 

Brigg of Turk, 9. 

Broke, 112. 

Brooch, 19. 

Brook, 28. 

Broom, 15. 

Bruce, it9. 

Bucklered, 78. 

Buffet, 170. 

Burden, 54. 

Burgeon, 54. 

Butts, 166. 



Buxom, 181. 

By, 1G3. 

By his chieftain's hand, 98. 

By the rood, 22. 

Cabala, 80. 

Cadence, 31, 54. 

Cairn, 6. 

Caitiff, 178. 

Caledon, 3. 

Cambus-kenneth's fane, 117. 

Cambusraon, 8. 

Canna, 51. 

Cardross, 99. 

Carpet knight, 155. 

Casement, 179. 

Casque, 198. 

Castle, 164. 

Cavil, 209. 

Chalice, 74. 

Chanter, 52. 

Checkered bands, 166. 

Checkered shroud, 68. 

Chiding, 11. 

Clamor, 88. 

Clan, 41. 

Clarion, 53. 

Claymore, 49. 

Clemency, 170. 

Cloister, 16. 

Close, 158. 

Cognizance, 174. 

Coif, •t4. 

Coil, 97. 

Coilantogle's ford, 139. 

Coir-Uriskin, 85, 99. 

Combating, 67. 

Common's King, 165. 

Compeers, 79. 

Conceit, 108. 

Conjure, 122. 

Copse, 6. 

Cormorant, 72. 

Coronach, 89. 



INDEX. 



21^ 



Coronet, 45. 
Correi, CO. 
Corselet, 198. 
Couched, 11. 
Courier, 62. 
Covert, 84. 
Cowl, IGG. 
Coy, 74. 
Crested, 4. 
Crosslet, 82. 
Cubit, 82. 
Cumber, 90. 
Curlew, 149. 
Cushat, 7G. 
Cymbals, 193. 

Daggled, 133. 

Dappled, 142. 

Dank osiers, 144. 

Darkling, 120. 

Death halloo, 10. 

Death wound , 10. 

Dell, 72. 

Delusion, 152. 

Dennan's Row, 111. 

Dernstown, 160. 

Despite old spleen, 61. 

Devan, 129. 

Device, 25. 

Dewing, 30. 

Diugle, 12. 

Dirge, 197. 

Disembodied world, 81. 

Dispensation, 47. 

Disowned by every noble peer, 47. 

Doffing, 165. 

Domain, 67. 

Douglases, 43, 163. 

Doune, 145, 160. 

Down, 71. 

Down of eider, 103. 

Druid, 77. 

Duchray, 99. 

Dun, 27. 



Dun deer's hide, 87. 
Duncraggan, 89. 
Dun of ermline, 123. 

Eagle wings unfurled. 153. 
j Earl William, 176. 
Earn, 115. 

Earth-born castles, 13. 
Eglantine, 13. 
Elfin Queen, 120. 
Embers, 85. 
Emblem, 44. 
Embossed, 9. 
Emprise, 24. 
Enow, 65. 
Envenomed, 68. 
Erne, 192. 

Errant damosel, 185. 
Errant-knight, 24. 
Erst, 42. 
Espial, 63. 
Estranged, 79. 
Ettrick, 63. 
Execration, 83. 
Eyry, 192. 

Fabled goddess, 59. 
Fain, 7. 
Falchion, 18. 
Falcon, 6. 
Fallow, 31. 
Fared, 128. 
Fatal green, 121. 
Favor, 135. 
Fay, 23. 
Fealty, 172. 
Feint, 156. 
Fell, 70. 
Fellest, 29. 
Fen, 116. 
Ferragus, 28. 
Feud, 125. 
Feudal power, 165. 
Field fare, 78. 



214 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



Fiery Cross, 74. 

Filial love, 20. 

Fitting ward, 171. 

Fleet, 40. 

Fleiniug, 180. 

Flushing, 90. 

Foiled, 65. 

Fold, 78. 

Forayed, 130. 

Forfeit, 133. 

For retreat in dangerous hour, 25. 

Franciscan, 1G3. 

Fraught, 43. 

Frenzied, 134. 

Friar Tuck, 166. 

From targe and jack, 151. 

Gael, 142. 
Gallants, 159. 
Garnish, 27. 
Garrisoned, 150. 
Gauntlet, 33. 
Glade, 13. 
Glaive, 114. 
Glen, 78. 
Glen Artney, 5. 
Glenfinlas, 61. 
Glen Fruin, 55. 
Glen Luss, 55. 
Glinted, 151. 
Glosing, 62. 
Goblin, 81. 
Goshawk, 84. 
Gored, 181. 
Graces, 19. 
Graeme, 41, 99. 
Grisly visage, 33. 
Grot, 118. 
Guerdon, 47, 186. 
Guile, 129. 
Guise, 59. 
Gyve, 178. 

Hag, 81. 



Haggard, 83. 

Halberd, ISO. 

Hallowed creed, 78. 

Hap, 38. 

Hardened flesh, 138. 

Harebell, 44. 

Harness, 179. 

Harp of the North, 3. 

Hazard our relief, 47. 

Heath, 8, 74. 

Heath cock, 22. 

Helm, 127. 

Henchman, 70. 

Heritage, 29. 

Heron, 23. 

Hero's targe, 111. 

Hest, 92. 

Hied, 12. 

Highland plunderers, 17. 

Hind, 87. 

His Border spears with Hotspur's 

bows, 50. 
His lordship the embattled field, 127. 
His targe he threw, etc., 156. 
Hoary, 90. 
Holy-Rood, 46, 146. 
Holytide, 180. 
Homage, 155. 
Homicide, 47. 
Horde, 98. 
Host, 180. 
Hostage, 165. 

Hunters live so cheerily, etc., 132. 
Hurricane, 7. 

Idaean vine, 26. 

Imbrue, 135. 

Impending, 82. 

Incessant, 66. 

Inch-Cailliach, 82. 

Inconstant, 122. 

Incumbent, 100. 

Infamy, 84. 

In Holy-Rood a knight he slew, 46. 



INDEX. 



215 



Insulated, 13. 
Inured, 109. 
Invulnerable, 117. 

Jennet, 104. 
Jeopardy, 187. 
Juggler, 183. 

Ken, 7. 
Kerchief, 94. 
Kernes, 111. 
Kier, 160. 
Kindly, 122. 
Knell, 42. 

Knighthood, 4, 171. 
Knot-grass, 78. 

Lackey, 70. 

Ladies' Rock, 168. 

Lair, 5. 

Lanrick mead, 86. 

Lave, 17. 

Lay, 37. 

Lea, 44. 

Leagued, 50. 

Leash, 169. 

Leech, 189. 

Legends, 74. 

Lendrick, 160, 

Lenox foray, 46. 

Level way, 12. 

Leven-glen, 55. 

Lichens, 39. 

Limpid, 57. 

Lincoln green, 23. 

Lineage of the Bleeding Heart, 65. 

Links of Forth, 65. 

Linn, 7. 

Linnet, 37. 

Little John, 166. 

Loch Achray, 8. 

Lochard, 8. 

Loch Con, 99. 

Loch Katrine, 15. 



Loch Lomond, 46. 
Loop, 179. 
Lowered, 146. 
Lubuaig, 95. 
Lure, 145. 



ic, 80. 
Maid Marian, 166. 
Main, 38. 
Marauding, 47. 
Maronnan, 48. 
Martial, 142. 
Masquers, 163. 
Matins, 17, 37. 
Mavis, 119. 
Maze, 4. 

Measured mood, 19. 
Meed, 38. 
Meggat, 63. 
Menials, 28. 
Menial train, 201. 
Menteith, 7, 65. 
Mere, 22. 
Merle, 119. 
Meteor tire, 80. 
Mewed, 146. 
Midnight blaze, 97. 
Mien, 23. 
Mimicry, 61. 
Minaret, 13. 
Minstrel, 3. 
Minstrelsy, 4. 
Misproud, 170. 
Moat, 15. 
Monan, 4. 
Monk, 77. 

Monument of Grecian Art, 18. 
Moody, 79. 
Moor, 71. 
Morass, 87. 

Moray's silver star, 114. 
More than kindred knew, 28. 
Morning prime, 203. 
Morrice-dancers, 163. 



216 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



Mosque, 13. 
Motley, 163. 
Mould, 123. 
Murky, 103. 
Muster, 145. 
Mutch, IGG. 
My sovereign holds in ward my 

lands, 71. 
Mysterious lineage, 79. 

Naiad, 18. 

Native bulwarks, 13. 
Needwood, 184. 
Nighted, 08. 
Numbers, 3. 
Nuptial torch, (iS. 

Ochtertyre, 160. 

Omen, 112. 

O my sweet William, 131. 

On the visioued future bent, 23. 

Opening pack, (5. 

Orisons, 34. 

O sad and fatal mound, 163. 

Outlawed, 47. 

Page, 101. 

Pageant pomp, 70. 

Pagod, 13. 

Palfrey, 159. 

Pallet, 178. 

Palsied, 86. 

Parley, 62. 

Patriarch, 82. 

Penance, 77. 

Pennons, 130, 145. 

Pent, 148. 

Percy's Norman pennon, 58. 

Phantom, 32. 

Pibroch, 30. 

Pinnacle, 12. 

Plaid, 19. 

Plaided, 38. 

Plover, 153. 



Pole-axe, 95. 
Pomp, 58. 
Port, 28. 
Portals, 63. 
Postern gate, 162. 
Prelude, 53. 
Presaged, 118. 
Presence, 204. 
Pretext, C3. 
Pricked, 160. 
Primeval, 100. 
Prompted, 108. 
Prore, 189. 
Proselyte, 206. 
Prune, 21. 
Ptarmigan, 22. 
Purvey, 183. 

Quail, 60. 
Quaint, 163. 
Quarry, 9. 
Quarterstaff, 166. 
Questing, 87. 

Rampart, 10. 

Random, 100. 

Raven, 20. 

Ravine, 97. 

Reave, 44. 

Reck of, 127. 

Recreant, 157. 

Rednock, 99. 

Red streamers of the north, 116. 

Reeking red, 49. 

Refluent, 195. 

Reft, 61. 

Rendezvous, 98. 

Requiem, 200. 

Reveille', 31. 

Revelry, 76. 

Rife, 117. 

Rifted, 55. 

Ritual, 76. 

River Demon, SO. 



INDEX. 



217 



Robin Hood, 166. 

Rocky isle, 24. 

Roderick Vich Alpine, 54. 

Roe, 6. 

Ross-dhu, 55. 

Rout, 6. 

Rowan, 77. 

Royal ward, 61. 

Ruth, 156. 

Ruthless, 63. 

Sable, 50. 

Sable-lettered page, 80. 

Sable pale of Mar, 114. 

Saiut Fillan, 3. 

Saiut Hubert, 9. 

Saiut Modan, 42. 

Satyr, 100. 

Scaled, 66. 

Scanned, 99. 

Scarlet, 166. 

Scathed, 84. 

Scathelocke, 166. 

Scathless, 111. 

Scaur, 87. 

Scourge and steel, 9. 

Scroll, 113. 

Searest, 90. 

Sedgy, 31. 

Seek other cause 'gainst Roderick 

Dhu, 148. 
Seine, 11. 
Sentient, 113. 
Sentinel, 16. 
Sepulchral, 83. 
Sequestered, 98. 
Seraph, 209. 
Serf, 124. 
Serried, 194. 
Shallop, 191. 
Sheen, 13. 
Shingles, 143. 
Shingly, 81. 
Shock, 148. 



Shred, 134. 

Shrewdly, 7. 

Shrouds, 48. 

Signet, 127. 

Signet sage, 21. 

Skirts, 98. 

Slaked, 49. 

Slighting the need, 22. 

Slip, 137. 

Slogan, 55. 

Snood, 19, 79. 

Snowdoun, 29. 

Snowdoun's Knight is Scotland's 
King, 205. 

Sooth, 24. 

Sounds, too, had come, 81. 

Speed, 38. 

Spells, 80. 

Spey, 44. 

Stag of ten, 132. 

Stained, 208. 

Stalwart, 168. 

Stance, 115. 

Stanch hound, 9. 

Stark, 164. 

Stirling's porch, 65, 161. 

Stock, 9. 

Storied pane, 201. 

Straight or strait, 63. 

Strand, 88. 

Stranger to respect and power, 146. 

Strath, 78. 

Strath Endrick glen, 61. 

Strath-Gartney, 97. 

Strath-Ire, 92. 

Strathspey, 46. 

Strook, 83. 

Stumah, 90. 

Subterranean, 150. 

Such cheek should feel the mid- 
night air, 70. 

Suitor, 50. 

Summer solstice, 136. 

Suspense, 152. 



218 



THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 



Swarthy, 88. 
Swath, 88. 
Switzer, 180. 
Sylvan war, 7. 
Symbol, 83. 

Taghairm, 110. 

Tainted gale, 5. 

Talisman, 207. 

Tamed the Border-Side, (33. 

Tapestried, 201. 

Targe, 92. 

Target, 27. 

Tartans brave, 52. 

Teviot, 03. 

That monk of savage form and 
face, 77. 

That party conquers in the strife, 113. 

The bannered towers of Doune, 160. 

The burghers hold their sports to- 
day, 163. 

The flooded Teith, 8. 

Three mighty lakes, 153. 

Thrilling sounds, etc., 52. 

Through watch and ward, 139. 

Tilter, 164. 

Tinchell, 194. 

Tine-man, 50. 

Toils, 131. 

Torry, 160. 

To speed, 206. 

To steal their meal, 142. 

Tower, 13. 

Trailing arms, 173. 

Train, 126. 

Trance, 113. 

Treacherous wile, 208. 

Triple steel, 158. 

Troll, 181. 

Trophies, 27. 

Trosachs, 10. 

Trowed, 117. 

Truce, 156. 

Truncheon, 146. 



TuUibardiue's house. 185. 
Turn to bay, 10. 
Turret, 13. 
Tweed, 44. 

Uam-Var, 6. 

Unasked his birth and name. 28. 

Undaunted, 47. 

Unhooded, 59. 

Unless he climb, etc., 15. 

Unwont, 42. 

Vair, 120. 
Vassal, 83. 
Vaward scouts, 193. 
Veering, 14. 
Vennachar, 9. 
Ventures, 74. 
Verge, 66. 
Vest of Pall, 119. 
Vied, 67. 
Vindictive, 9. 
Voluntary, 96. 
Votaress, 48. 
Vulgar, 175. 

Wan, 67. 

Waned crescent, 58. 
Ward, 53. 
Warder, 5. 
Warily, 132. 
Warrant, 139. 
Weal, 72. 
Weeds, 128. 
Weird, 30. 
Whinyard, 10. 

White-haired Allan-bane, 37. 
Wildering, 16. 
Wiled, 45. 
Wily, 126. 
Wist, 123. 
Witch-elm, 3. 

Without a pass from Roderick 
Dhu, 152. 



Wizard, 4. 

Woe worth the chase, 11. 

Wold, 119. 

Woned, 120. 

Wont, 21. 

Wot, 29. 

Wreak, 135. 



INDEX. 

Wrought, 132. 

Yarrow, 63. 
Yeoman, 164. 
Yester even, 205. 
Yew, 82. 
Yore, 50, 



219 



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ROUSSEAU'S OPINION OF ''ROBINSON CRUSOE." 



"Since we must have books, there is one which, to my 
miud, furnishes the finest of tretitises on education according 
to nature. My Emile shall read this book before any other ; 
it shall for a long time be his entire library, and shall alwa3's 
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our discussions of natural science shall be only commentaries. 
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a ripened judgment ; and, so long as our taste is unspoiled, 
we shall enjoy reading it. What wonderful book is this? 
Aristotle? Pliny? Buffon ? No; it is ' Robinson Crusoe.' .. . 

"Disencumbered of its less profitable portions, this ro- 
mance, from its beginning, the shipwreck of Crusoe on 
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him away, will yield amusement and instruction to Emile. 
I would have him comi)letely carried away by it, continually 
thinking of Crusoe's fort, his goats, and his plantations. I 
would have him learn, not from books, but from real things, 
all he would need to know under the same circumstances. 
He should be encouraged to play Robinson Crusoe, — to 
imagine himself clad in skins, wearing a great cap and 
sword, and all the array of that grotesque figure, down to 
the umbrella, of which he would have no need. If he hap- 
pens to be iu want of anything, I hope he will contrive 
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him notice Crusoe's mistakes, and avoid them under like 
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when we think ourselves rich if we are free and have the 
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his island, would be more desirous to learn than his master 
would be to teach him. He would be anxious to know every- 
thing he could make use of, and nothing besides. You would 
not need to guide, but to restrain him." 

From ^MiLE. 



A NEW VOLUME IN THE SERIES OF 

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AATATER-B ABIES. 

By CHARLES KINGSLEY. 

Edited for the use of Schools by J. H. Stickney. 

212 pp. Illustrated. Boards. Introd. price, 35 cts. ; Mailing price, 40 cts. 

Testimony to any extent might easily be adduced to tlie ex- 
cellent style and healthy tone of this beautiful story. A slight 
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ing in the aggregate to less than forty in the two hundred and 
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No modei-n writer has better deserved the title of the classici 
than ]\Ir. Kingsley. No one better unites a lofty aim and a simple, 
natural style. The purpose of the author in AVater-Babies seems 
to have been to picture to little children the truths of natural selec- 
tion of species by making an individual and moral application of 
them. And he does so in the character of a little chimney-sweep. 
To avoid what is objectionable in a moral story, as such, he begins 
by taking his little subject into fairy-land, in the personnel of a 
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he lifts him into physical, mental, and, as the ground and agency 
of both these, moral eminence, simply by the exercise of a right 
impulse — the desire to be clean — vmder the training of two prin- 
ciples, — unyielding justice and unselfish love. The natural history 
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Their traits ai'e all made to bear upon little Tom, — himself little 
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book is more than moral ; it is religious, yet with no distinct state- 
ment to make it so, apart from the inference of the story, and 
without the least trace of sectarianism. No better influence could 
possibly be brought to bear upon a class in school than that of 
following together the fortunes of little Tom in the severe hands 
of Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid or the more gentle ones of Mrs. Doas- 
youwouldbedoneby. The language of the book is so simple as to 
make it easy reading for pupils of the Third or Fourth Reader 
grade ; and to have read it thus as a school exercise is an item in 
education not likely to be forgotten, nor one barren of desired 
results. 

GINN, HEATH, & CO., Publishers, 

BOSTON, NEW YORK, and CHICAOO. 



GUIDES FOR SCIENCE TEACHING. 



Published under the Auspices of the Boston Society of Natural History. 



These manuals are designed to assist teachers of natural 
science. They present needed information in a clear and com- 
pact form, with illustrations and diagrams where desirable, and 
give practical hints both for the class-room and for collecting 
and preserving specimens. They are all i6mo, with stiff paper 
covers. Specimens can be had illustrating Nos. IIL-XIL 

Jifo. I. About Pebbles. 

By Prof. Alpheus Hyatt, of the Mass. Institute of Technology. 
26 pp. Mailing Price, 10 cents. 

No. II. Concerning a few Common Plants. 

By Prof. George Goodale, of Harvard University. 61 pp. Mailing 
Price, 10 cents. 

No. III. Commercial and Other Sponges. 

By Prof. Alpheus Myatt, of the Mass. Institute of Technology. 
43 PP- 7 illustrative plates. Mailing Price, 20 cents. 

No. IV. A First Lesson in Natural History. 

By Mrs. Elizabeth Agassiz. 64 pp. Illustrated by woodcuts and 
4 plates. Mailing Price, 25 cents. 

No. /. Common Hydroids, Corals, and Echinoderms. 

By Prof. Alpheus Hyatt, of the Mass. Institute of Technology. 
32 pp. Illustrated. Mailing Price, 20 cents. 

No. VI. Oyster, Clam, and Other Common Mollusks. 

By Prof. Alpheus Hyatt, of the Mass. Institute of Technology. 
65 pp. 17 illustrative plates. Mailing Price, 25 cents. 

No. VII. Worms and Crustacea. 

By Prof. Alpheus Hyatt, of the Mass. Institute of Technology- 
68 pp. Illustrated by 36 cuts and 12 plates. Mailing Price, 25 cents. 

No. XII. Common Minerals and Rocks. 

By Prof. W. O. Crosby, of the Mass. Institute of Technology. 130 pp. 
Mailing Price, 25 cents. 

No. XIII. First Lessons in Minerals. 

By Miss Ellen H. Richards, of the Mass. Institute of Technology. 
50 pp. Mailing Price, 10 cents. 

A^os. VIII. to XI. are in preparation. 

GINN, HEATH, & CO., Publishers, 

BOSTON, NEW YORK, and CHICAGO. 



HAZEN'S 

COMPLETE SPELLIN&-BOOK, 

FOR 

Primary, Intermediate^ and Grammar Schools. 



The old-fashioned spelling-book contained a huddle of words, 
most of them unknown to the child, many almost unknowable, rarely 
to be met with in his reading or used in his writing. Such a barbarous 
plan could not produce good results. It was a tyranny, and, like 
every other tyi'anny, it had to be overthrown. Spelling-books were 
declared a "common enemy." 

But to use no speller has proved as real an evil as to use a bad 
one. Few teachers are willing and able to make their own lists 
of words, fewer still have the time ; and, after all, why should such 
hastily-made spelling-books be better than a printed one, prepared 
by a specially qualified person after special study and ample time? 

HAZEN'S COMPLETE SPELLING-BOOK is presented as a 
" Golden Mean." It is a common-sense Manual for common-sense 
teachers, adapted to the entire range of grades, and containing be- 
sides the old and approved features many new and original ones, 
that enable the teacher to quadruple the benefits of this branch of 
study. 

Introduction Price, 25 cts. AUovFance for old Boole, 10 cts. 



GINN. HEATH, & CO., Publishers. 

Boston, New York, and Chicago. 



WOOD-WORKING TOOLS; 

HOW TO USE THEM. 



Edited (for the Industrial School AssociaHott) by Channing Whitaker, 
Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology. i6mo. 104 pages. With 80 illustrations. A handbook 
for teachers and pupils. 

Retail Price 50 cts, 

A course of simple lessons in the use of the universal tools : the 
hammer, knife, axe, plane, rule, chalk-line, square, gauge, chisel, 
saw, and augur. The lessons are so amply illustrated that any 
bright boy will find the book alone a great help in his endeavors to 
learn the right way of using common tools. Nearly half of the 




illustrations were taken from life, and are efficient substitutes for 
lengthy and important printed instructions. The book is the result 
of actual experiments successfully made by the Industrial School 
Association of Boston. It will help people, who are interested in 
systematic and efficient industrial education, to begin it. 



24 GINN, HEATH, &- CO:S PUBLICATIONS. 

also thirty-two shorter pieces from other speeches. From Bacon 
thirty of the fifty-eight Essays, all given entire, and several choice 
selections from Advancement of Learning. 

E. N. Potter, Pres. of Union College, says, " They are especially 
valuable in connection with any course of English Literature or His- 
tory. They enable students, and readers generally, to acquire an 
adequate knowledge, not of mere extracts, but of representative 
portions of the best works of world-famed writers. The pupil or 
reader learns not only the 'where,' 'when,' etc., with regard to an 
author's life, but gains a knowledge of the man himself, from famil- 
iarity with his writings." 

Hudson's Pamphlet Selections Prose and Poetry. 

Annotated. i2mo. Paper. Mailing price of each, 25 cts. ; Introduc- 
tion price, 20 cts. 

To meet a growing demand for standard literature in cheap form, 
we have bound in paper covers, for school use, the following portions 
of Hudson's Text-Book of Prose and Text-Book of Poetry. 

Any two or more of the pamphlets will be bound in one volume 
to suit customers ordering one hundred or more copies. 

Edmund Burke, section i . 

Five Speeches and ten Papers, comprising: Obedience to Instruc- 
tions; Speech to the Electors of Bristol; Growth of the American 
Trade ; Character of George Grenville ; Lord Chathatn and Charles 
Townshend ; State of Things in France ; The Revolution in France ; 
Liberty in the Abstract; Freedom as an Inheritance ; The Revolution- 
ary Third Estate ; The Rights of Men ; Abuse of History ; Efiglish 
Toleration ; How a Wise Statesmati Proceeds ; The Principles of 
Reform ; Fanaticism of Liberty. 

Edmund Burke, section n. 

Introduced by a Sketch of his Life, and comprising: The Ethics 
of Vanity; The Old and the New Whigs ; A Letter to a Noble Lord; 
France at War with Hu?nanity ; Fatiatical Atheisjn ; How to Deal 
with Jacobin France; Desolation of the Carnatic; Unlawfilness of 
Arbitrary Power ; Cruelties of Debi Siitg; Impeachment of Hastings \ 
fustice and Revenge ; Appeal for Judgment upon Hastings. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 25 

Darnel Webster, section i. 

Including his celebrated /?ep/y to Hayne ; Blessings of the Coti- 
stitution ; Presidential Nullification ; The Spoils to the Victors ; 
Fraudulent Party-Outcries ; The Position of Mr. Calhoun ; South- 
Carolina Nullification. 

Daniel Webster, section ii. 

Introduced by a Sketch of his Life, and containing extracts from 
twenty-five Speeches on The Presidential Protest; The Character 
of Washington ; Alexander Hamiltofi ; First Settletnent of New 
England ; The First Century of New England ; The Second Century 
of New England; An Appeal against the Slave-Trade ; Bunker-Hill 
Monumetit Begtin; Bunker-Hill Monuinent Finished; Adams in the 
Congress ofijjS ; Right use of Learning; The Murder of Mr. White ; 
Character of Lord Byron ; Character of Judge Story ; Religion as 
an Element of Greatness ; Each to Interpret the Law for Himself; 
Irredeemable Paper; Benefits of the Credit System ; Abuse of Execu- 
tive Patronage ; Philajithropic Love of Power ; The Spirit of Dis- 
union ; Importance of the Navy ; The Log-Cabin ; Speaking for the 
Union ; Peaceable Secession ; Standing upon the Constitution ; An 
Appeal for the Union. 

lord Bacon. 



Introduced by a Sketch of his Life, and comprising extracts from 
thirty Essays, treating of Truth ; Death ; Unity in Religion ; Revenge ; 
Adversity ; Marriage and Single Life ; Great Place ; Goodness and 
Goodness of Nature; Atheism; Superstition; Travel; Wisdom for 
a Man's Self; Innovations; Seetning Wise; Friendship ; Expense; 
Suspicion ; Discourse ; Riches ; Nature in Men ; Custom and 
Education ; Youth and Age ; Beauty ; Deformity ; Studies ; Praise ; 
fudicature; Anger; Discredits of Learning; Value of Knowledge. 
Wordsworth, section i. 

Life of Wordsworth, the Prelude, and thirty-three Poems. 
Wordsworth. Section II. 

Sixty Poems and Sonnets, accompanied by foot-notes, historical 
and explanatory. 



26 



GINN, HEATH, 6- CO:S PUBLICATIONS. 



Coleridge and Burns. 

Containing, in addition to the Biographical Sketches of the Poets, 
the Notes and Glossaries, forty-five Poems, such as : T/ie Ancient 
Mariner; Christabel ; The Cotter'' s Saturday Night; To a Mouse; 
and many other universal favorites. 

Addison and Gotdsmllh. 



Comprising a brief Sketch of the Life of each, together with fifteen 
Papers from Addison, and eleven Prose Selections from Goldsmith, 
followed by a reprint of ''The Deserted Village.'''' The Prose Selec- 
tions include: Sir Roger de Coverly ; Superstition; Modesty; Cheer- 
fulness ; True and False Wit ; Fortune-Hiinters ; Dr. Primrose iii 
Prison ; The Character of Hypatia ; A Hard World for Poets ; 
English and French Politeness; etc., etc., etc. 



In forming the mind and taste of the young, is it not better to use 
authors who have already lived long enough to afford some guar- 
anty that they may survive the next twenty years f 



A. P. Peabody, Harvard Coll.: 
The extracts are, without exception, 
admirably chosen ; there is not one 
of them which ought not to have its 
favored place in the literature at the 
command of every person of even mod- 
erate intelligence. The editorial matter 
— memoir, note, and glossary — is am- 
ple for its purpose, manifests the skill 
of an experienced teacher no less than 
of an accomplished scholar, and is val- 
uable equally for what it embodies and 
for what, with a wise parsimony, it 
omits ; for there is much that is tempt- 
ing to an editor which would be sur- 
plusage in a school-book. 

Henry A. Coit, Prin. St. Paul's 
School, Concord, N.H. : I heartily ap- 
prove, admire, and commend. It is 
miles beyond and above, in value, the 
so-called Advanced Reader. 



Horace H. Furness, Phila.: If 
such selections could only be intro- 
duced into all our public schools, the 
next generation will show a race of 
statesmen with " hands that the rod of 
empire might sway," and that would 
make us lift our head among the na- 
tions. 



Dr. Wm. T. Harris : I think you 
are doing a great service to the cause 
of literature in the country by printing 
and circulating these books. Mr. Hud- 
son is effecting a revolution in our 
methods of teaching literature by his 
series of school-texts, — Shakespeare, 
Burke, Wordsworth, etc. I can only 
wish I were an autocrat, and could 
force these books into the schools of 
the country. 



ENGLISH LITERATURE. 



27 



Hudson's Classical English Reader. 

For High Schools, Academies, and the upper grades of Grammar Schools. 
Containing selections from Bryant, Burke, Burns, Byron, Carlyle, Cole- 
ridge, Cowley, Cowper, Dana, Froude, Gladstone, Goldsmith, Gray, 
Helps, Herbert, Hooker, Hume, Irving, Keble, Lamb, Landor, Long- 
fellow, Macaulay, Milton, Peabody, Scott, Shakespeare, Southey, Spen- 
ser, Talfourd, Taylor, Webster, Whittier, Wordsworth, and other stand- 
ard authors. With explanatory and critical foot-notes. i2mo. Cloth. 
425 pages. Mailing price, $1.10; Introduction, ;8i. 00; Allowance for 
old book in use, 30 cents. 

I^T Send Postal for Special Circular. 

Not one of the pieces has been taken for the author's sake ; the 
selection has proceeded on the twofold ground of intrinsic merit 
and of fitness to the purposes of the volume ; due care being had, 
withal, for a reasonable variety both in matter, style, and author- 
ship. Including as it does the choicest extracts from so many stand- 
ard authors, it admirably supplements and emphasizes the ordinary 
course in English Literature. 



F. J. Child, Pro/, of Eng. in Ha- - 
vard Univ.: A boy who knew this 
book aS well as boys who are good for 
anything generally know their readers, 
might almost be said to be liberally 
educated. And how rich must the 
literature be, when, after it has been 
ransacked for " extracts " (not always 
by men who know where to go and 
what to take, as Mr. Hudson does), a 
school-book can be made that is so 
select and so unstaled. I am going to 
finish my education on it myself, and 
bring up a certain boy on it, and some 
girls. If I had seen only the selections 
from Schiller's Wallenstein, I should 
be sure that the book was what I want 
for young people. The man that put 
those in knows what they like and need. 

R. R. RayrQOnd, Pres. of Boston 
School of OratoTy : It is just the book 
that needed to be made ; and, now that it 
is here, one is surprised that it did not 
come before. 



A. P. Peabody, Harvard Univ. : 
I must express to you my strong sense of 
its superlative worth. It ought to make 
its way into every Grammar-School and 
Academy in the country. It will do 
more than any or all books of the kind 
(there are none of the kind) now in use 
toward creating a taste for good liter- 
ature, and furnishing fit materials for 
the culture of such a taste. 

H. A. Coit, Prin. of St. Paul's Sch., 
Concord, N.H. : There is no book to be 
compared with it in America. There is 
the most refreshing good taste and re- 
finement manifested in every selection, 
to say nothing of the thorough knowl- 
edge of the best English literature, to 
which it witnesses. 

R. G. Hibbard, Prof, of Elocution, 
Wesleyan Univ. : As a book for the 
use of classes in our High Schools, both 
in the study of English Literature and 
Reading, it has no superior. 



28 



GINN, HE A TH, 6- CO:S PUBLIC A TIONS. 



First Two Boohs of Milton's Paradise Lost ; and 

Millon's Lycidas. By Homer B. Sprague, Ph.D., Principal of Girls' 
High School, Boston. i2mo. Cloth. 198 pages. Mailijig price, 55 
cts.; Introduction, 45 cts. 

These books, the sublimest of Milton's poetry, are here prepared 
for class use, as well as for private reading. The edition differs, it 
is believed, from all other school editions, — 

1. In containing some of the results of the most recent studies 
and criticisms, as set forth by Masson, Prof. Himes, the French 
critic Edmond Scherer, De Quincey, Lowell, Morley, etc. 

2. In being illustrated by diagrams, representing Milton's cos- 
mography, showing the relative positions he assigned in space to the 
empyreal heavens, to hell, to the earth between them, and to chaos. 

3. In omitting fifteen or twenty objectionable lines that need not 
be read in school, and that have often and properly caused the ex- 
clusion of the book from the class-room. 

4. In furnishing more convenient and suggestive notes, with 
better type and arrangement. 

5. In presenting an approved formula for conducting class 
exercises. 



F. A. March, Prof, of Eng., La- 
fayette Coll. : It is a very lively and 
suggestive book, with quite learning 
enough in it for our schools. 

Pres. Warren, Boston Univ. : It 
seems to me admirably adapted to its 
purpose. 

John A. Himes, Prof, of Eng. 
Lit., Penn, Coll., Gettysburg : I have 
seen no other annotated edition of 
Paradise Lost, in the ground covered, 
so free from errors or so safe as this. 

W. J. Rolfe : An admirable school 
edition. It is the first really good in- 
troduction to the study of the poet 
which has appeared in this country, 
and seems to us better than anything 
of the kind published in England. 

New England Journal of Ed- 
ucation : There is probably no Ameri- 
can scholar better fitted to prepare an 



edition of Milton's poems for educa- 
tional uses than Homer B. Sprague. 
He brings to bear upon his labors the 
skill of the gifted critic, and the practi- 
cal wisdom of an able instructor, for 
many years, in English literature. His 
notes are admirable, 

C. T. Lane, Prin. High School, 
Fort Wayne, Ind. : I am using it in my 
class in English Literature, and cannot 
too strongly express my admiration 
for it. 

W. C. Crippin, recent Prin. of 
Johnson Normal School, Vt. : It is in- 
comparably the best edition for class 
use that has yet appeared. 

E. H. Russell, Prin. Worcester 
Normal School : The three main quali- 
ties of a good text-book maker, namely, 
scholarship, judgment, and enthusiasm, 
Dr. Sprague shows in this book. 



ENGLISH LITERA TURE. 



29 



Six Selections from Iruing's Sketch-Booh. 

With full notes, questions, etc., for home and school use. By Homer 
B. Sprague, Ph.D., and M. E. Scates, of the Giils' High School, Bos- 
ton. i2mo. Cloth. 126 pages. Mailing price, 40 cents; Introduc- 
tion, 35 cents. Boards : Mailing price, 30 cents ; Introduction, 25 cents. 

The volume comprises : T/ie Voyage, Westmitister Abbey, The 
Widow and her Son, Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 
and Christmas. 

These six selections are complete sketches, each chosen for its 
fitness to illustrate the variety, as well as the characteristics, of 
Irving's style ; as pathetic, humorous, etc. The notes, the sugges- 
tions to teachers, questions (whether for examination or to stimulate 
inquiry) , and the guides to the analysis of sentences and construction 
of others equivalent to those of the text, all are the outgrowth of many 
years experience and actual trial in the school-room. Teachers will 
be interested in the extracts quoted from the Board of School Super- 
visors of Boston, in regard to the study of Enghsh Literature in the 
High Schools, and all will find the Chronological Table of the Life 
and Works of Irving an invaluable aid to collateral study and reading. 

This book has recently been introduced into the High Schools 
of Cambridge, Springfield, Charlestown, Dorchester, Roxbury, 
Portland, Gloucester, Beverly, Medford, Brighton, Jamaica Plain, 
Bellows Falls, Great Barrington, Westboro, Ouincy, New London, 
Rockland, Castine, Wareham, Newton, Greenfield, Townsend, etc., 
etc. 



A. F. Blaisdell, author of "Out- 
lines of English Literature " : It is the 
best-edited " English Classic " (I mean 
for common, every-day use in the 
schools) I have ever seen. The ques- 
tions, suggestions, notes, &c., are ad- 
mirable. 

C. T. Haynes, Prin. Wash. School, 
Worcester : I have found this book just 
the thing to form and cultivate a literary 
taste. I have a class now taking up 
reading which is designed to lay the 
foundation for a permanant and pro- 
gressive culture. In it are some twenty 



volunteers. Among other things re- 
quired, I insist upon a sketch of the 
author, an oral abstract of the selection, 
and a set of written questions upon it 
for me to answer. The chronology of 
Irving's life at the outset is a fine idea. 
The hints to teachers so tell how to do 
the thing that it can be done. The 
whole book is an excellent lesson on 
language, and most of the questions, 
like baited fish-hooks are likely to draw 
up a live answer. That little book in 
the hands of wise teachers may turn 
scores of young minds in the right 
hterary direction for life. 



BOOKS FOR PRIMARY AND GRAMMAR SCHOOLS. 

Iktbod. Frici. 

March s A-B-C Book 20 

Hazen's Spelling-Book 25 

Church's Stories of the Old World 40 

Hudson & Lamb's Merchant of Venice 25 



Lambert's Robinson Crusoe 



35 



" Memory Gems 30 

Yonge's Scott's Quentin Durward 40 

Turner's Stories for Young Children. Boards 

Hudson's Old Edition of Shakespeare's Plays. Paper. . . .each .20 

New " " " " Cloth . . . . " .45 

" " " " " " Paper ..." .30 

" Burke, No. I. (Speeches and Papers) 20 

" Burke, No. II. (Life, Papers, Letters, and Speeches) . .20 
'■ Webster, No. I. (Reply to fiayne, and other Speeches) .20 
" Webster, No. II. (Life, and Extracts from Speeches) . .20 

" Bacon. (Life, and thirty Essays) 20 

" Wordsworth, No. I. (Prelude to Excursion, and 33 Poems) .20 

" Wordsworth, No. II. (Sixty Poems and Sonnets) 20 

" Coleridge and Burns. (Lives, and forty-five Poems) . . .20 

Addison and Goldsmith. (Lives, Papers, and Poems) . . .20 

Sprague's Six Selections from Irving 's Sketch-Book. Cloth, .35, Bds. .25 

" Two Books of Milton 's Paradise Lost, and Lycidas. Cloth, .45 

Bigsby 's Elements of English Composition 35 

Gilmore 's Outlines of the Art of Expression 60 

Whitney & Knox's Elementary Lessons in English. Part I. " Hozu 

to Speak and Write Cori-ectly " 4c 

Knox's Teacher's Edition of above, with plans for oral lessons . . .60 
Whitney 's Essentials of English Grammar (for high schools) . . .90 

Ginn's Addition Tablets 3.00 

Hill's Geometry for Beginners i.oo 

Wentworth & Hill's Examination Manual. Arithmetic 35 

Fitz's Terrestrial 8-inch Globe 12.00 

" Terrestrial 12-inch Globe 25.00 

Hall's Our World Geography, No. 1 60 

" Our World Geography, No. II 1.50 

Johnston 's Large Wall Maps (Classical, Political, Physical) .... 3.50 

Hyatt's About Pebbles 10 

Soodale's Concerning a few Common Plants 10 

Hyatt's Commercial and other Sponges 20 

tgassiz 's First Lesson in Natural History 25 

'iyatt's Corals and Echinoderms 20 

" Mollusca 25 

" Worms and Crustacea 25 

Crosby 's Common Minerals and Rocks 25 

Shalet's First Book of Geology i.oo 

Mason's Primary Music Reader ; .18 

" Second Music Reader 20 

' ' Third Music Reader 20 

" Intermediate Music Reader 40 

" Independent Music Reader 60 

" Independent Music Reader and Hymn and Tune Book. .94 

Allen 's L atin Primer 90 

WhHaker's How to Use Wood-Working Tools 50 

Monoyer'u Sight-Test for Schools 12 and .32 



/' 



Oifc:^^.ics fo 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




We are pubiiSiiiag from stan( 
as nearly complete i =; possible, ai n A^ /i 

tween the ag. > of nin ; .ad fifteen, U U14 528 8113 

.ire printed in large tjpe. or good papSTT suusi»»*v-^ 
sold at a very low price. The following are ready : — 

Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. 

Hudson & Lamb, no pp. BoaiJs. Introduction Price, 25 certtfc' 

Memory Gems in Pr ose and Verse. 

Selected by W. H. Lamkkk"' For primary, inter rnediate, and ad- 
vanced classes. 162 pp. Boards. Introduction Price, 30 cents. 

Robinson Crusoe. 

Editi^d by W. H. LaivIBI.rt. 264 pp. Boards. Introd. Price, 35 cents. 
Sligoi'"' •brid';cd b; the omission of unimportant matter. Great 
care has b "^ '-^krn to pips-rve Defoe's original language. 

Church's ^ .on e s of the Old WorlJ. 

354 pp. Boards. Introduction Price, 40 cents. 
The contents .^omprise the stories of the Argo, '"hebes,,the Iliad, 
« d}.=;.«-y, r nd ^^neid. The style is sirr.^',, idiomatic, and easy. 

Scott's Quen t in Durward. 

Editef' ♦"'11- •^his , It' ^i Il^i an Hist( 
M. 1 of En2lauU. 312 pp. 

Scov. t J u'y ff the Lahe. 

E'bi .DWIN GiN.N. 267 pp. Boards. Introd. mce, 35 cents. 

Conta-ns a brief life of Scott, and his critical not« on the poem 
carefully abi dged, "nth sufficient annotation to be easily read by 
children ten } ears old. 

Chas. /(inj9ley's Greek Heroes. 

Edited by JoHN Tetlow. 168 pp. Illustrated. Boards. Introd. 
Price, 35 c^its. 

It is believed^hat tlil.: fascinating and most wholesome story will 
be lieartily welcomed. 

^'luj. K ingsley 'f' Wafer-Babies. 

^.ciie Iby J. H. Sir- KVFY. Illustrated. Boards. Introd. Price, 35 ct'? 
: "-sages not intcidf-t! to be understood bv children "have d 
'liC It' Tided fo;^>Mpil.s of th Third or Fourth Reader ^ 

«j^lX* , FIhA r«, -& CO., Publishers. 

B'stoi. V York. Chicago. 



Editef' *"'ir •^his , It* ^i Il^i an Historical Introduction, by 
M. 1 of En2lauU. 312 pp. Boards. Introd. Pricj 



